Pride-full Paul?

Paul debates with himself in his Philippian letter regarding leaving this world or remaining. (1:21-24) “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. . . . But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” Wait! That sounds a bit arrogant. He is saying that it would be better for him to go to glory, but it would be better for the Christians at Philippi if he kept on working. Is he thinking too highly of himself? Is he a little full of himself? It seems like he is placing high value on his contribution to the Christian community and low expectation on their survival without him. Does Paul pen with self-centered pride when he bellows how badly his readers require him?

We should take the comment in question in the context of Paul’s entire letter. In the earlier part of chapter one Paul declares, (1:6) “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul’s confidence was not in his work but in the work of Christ. In chapter two he exhorts, (2:3) “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” I believe Paul was effective in his mission work partly because people knew him as one who practiced what he preached. 

Perhaps in his musing about which was the better choice  - to live or die – Paul could identify with the humility of Christ which he describes in chapter two. On the one hand, Christ (2:6-7) “existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant.” On the other hand, Paul’s personal preference to forego entering into his eternity with Christ in order to remain on earth a bond-servant of Christ was a similar act of humility.

Paul courageously writes this letter from a prison cell to encourage and assure his fellow believers that his desire was to continue to serve them and disciple them. His words: “to remain on in the flesh is necessary for your sake,” are spoken as a shepherd who assures his flock he will not abandon them. He confesses that they are more important to him than his own eternal ecstasy. Nevertheless, he cannot escape thinking about that future joy. He adds to his dialogue, (3:20-21) “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory,”

Casket? Ask it!

Do pride and humility come in to play with casket selection? When walking into the casket room at the funeral home all sorts of thoughts and feelings begin to stir. My first thought was, “what am I doing here?” Of course, decisions have to be made whether in preparation for the future inevitability of our own death or the current reality of the death of someone close.

So, we begin to reason about considerations, and there are lots of things to consider. What will people think about me if I choose this casket for myself or whoever? Wait! Maybe I am mistaken. There is only this one thing to consider, isn’t there? What message am I giving? What will people conclude? What will they say? We can’t choose a casket without thinking of who will be present at the funeral. Who will see? What evil thoughts will float about the room? “It’s obvious he didn’t love her enough to give her the best.” “His family must be spending their inheritance on themselves.” “Poor man, he deserved more honor than his family could afford to give.” “I would never be caught dead in that!”

Pride pushes us to make decisions, which we can’t afford, to protect us from our fear of what others may believe about us. If we push back the pride and let humility guide, we can consider many other more appropriate questions. What are my total financial obligations? What is too extravagant for a humble Christian? Do I want to impress or exercise discipline and humility? Should I care about what others might think or the biblical principles I live by? When choices are made, will God be pleased?

 

Choosing a casket involves more than just how long will it preserve the body from decay. A casket is another illustration of things that moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19). A life driven by pride lays up worthless treasure. The humble life knows where true treasure lies.

Pregnant with Humility

I wrote the following a few years ago but am reminded of these thoughts again while preparing to enjoy a fourth granddaughter in February.

Please keep in mind that we are trying to wrap our minds around the meaning of humility. I do not want to offend the reader. I am far too humble to intentionally offend. The example I am about to give is probably a man’s twisted perspective. Please accept it as merely another attempt at identifying humility. True humility makes an individual attractive and pleasing, which I think is why an expectant woman is that for me. I have wondered why I am so enchanted with and delighted by the sight of one who is pregnant. It is, I think, because she is so perfectly the picture of humility. She humbly sacrifices her shapeliness, her comfort, various vices, foods and activities, modesty and mobility, focusing her total self on the health and well-being on an unseen border, and all of this for nine long pregnant months. No matter how much she may prefer privacy, her transformation into a swollen, bulging, baby basket is a public event. With a perpetually humble smile she waddles like a duck and perches like Humpty-Dumpty. Nora Ephron said, "If pregnancy were a book, they would cut the last two chapters." It is in the last two months, however, that the little one teaches the much bigger one more lessons in humility.

It has been told that Marie Antoinette informed King Louis XVI of France that she was pregnant with these words. "I have come, Sire, to complain of one of your subjects who has been so audacious as to kick me in the belly." Punches and kicks from within are generally met with soft words and tummy rubs as mom's humble character adorns her like a gorgeous gown. She is wonderfully beastly. She is grotesquely beautiful. She is dazzlingly disfigured. She is lovely. We enjoy the humility we see in her self-sacrifice to become a conduit through which God will send a new person into the world. It is a complete lack of humility by which some women choose to terminate their pregnancies, claiming their rights and freedom to choose. Pride and self-centeredness reject the acceptance of responsibility to allow another life to take control of body and future. Thus, the choice to lay aside self-interests and bring about the birth of a child, accentuates the presence of a spirit of humility in the soon-to-be mom. The humble woman submits to the creator who is the giver of all life and, much like the mother of our Lord, she accepts the course that is set with this humble resignation, “Behold, the bond-slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

Flattery

What is the humble way to receive a compliment? Do we reject the compliment? Do we insist the compliment is undeserved? How do we receive it without being prideful? We may think that accepting the compliment is conceit and the only humble response is to dismiss it. We think that way because we have wrongly defined humility as self-denial. Humility is unselfishness, not self repudiation. A compliment can be accepted with gracious appreciation free of self-admiration. It can be opportunity to encourage or discourage the kind flatterer. Which is the most humble reaction to applause and the most loving? “Stop it, give your approval to someone else, your estimation of me is incorrect.” Or, “You are so kind to award me with your approval, you are very sweet to do so.” The second response rewards the person for kindness. The first response discredits the person’s observations. Humility doesn’t solicit attention and praise, but also doesn’t imagine self as lacking noteworthy abilities or character. Our comeback to kudos will convey a spirit of humility by a gentle and courteous answer. Thank you is never out of order for the humble.

High Humility

If we can’t take pride in our accomplishments, what is the payoff? Does remaining humble when we achieve, reduce the benefit of the achievement and consequently lower our motivation for future success? The answer to both of these questions depends on the reasons for our efforts. Do we work and perform only so we can gloat and brag? Do we set the bar high just so that we have reason to think more highly of ourselves and can inflate our egos? Surely there are better reasons to set goals and climb ladders. If our only profit in prosperity is personal pride, then our only hope for humility is failure. If the purpose of our aspirations is for God’s glory and to serve others, then every victory is celebrated without selfish thought. We can excel and exceed without conceit. We can be humble on the top of the ladder. Humility is the enemy of pride, not the enemy of winning. We are to be on guard against arrogance, not in fear of first place. Humility is opposed to self-centeredness, not to successfulness.

Isaiah's Experience

The prophet Isaiah’s personal experience with God, recorded in chapter six, provides insight to elements involved in our humility before God. The story enables us to understand the process involved in humbling ourselves before God. The process is more an encounter than an exercise of human will. We are not merely being humble, we are turning toward the Lord. Humbling ourselves involves standing in right relationship before God’s throne. Just as was true for Isaiah , real humility takes place when we have:
A collision with God’s awesomeness,
A vision of God’s holiness,
An admission of utter filthiness,
The elation of God’s forgiveness,
Attention to God’s voiced address,
The question of our willingness,
A call on mission for God’s graciousness,
A Christian filled with humble eagerness,
Commissioned as God’s ordained evangelist.

Timothy!!!

I wonder about Paul’s child in the faith, Timothy, if he suffered from a misunderstanding of humility. I wonder because of certain personal instructions Paul gives in the two letters addressed to Timothy. Christians sometimes think that humility means to be passive, unassertive, and even inactive. They think humbleness means non-resistance. If that is what Timothy thought then we can understand some of the coaching Paul gave him. Paul urged in his first letter, “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight (1:18). Paul ended the letter with the same urging, “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, . . .” (6:12). The second letter to Timothy immediately picks up this same theme. “God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline”(1:7). In the second chapter of that letter he calls upon Timothy to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2:1), and then calls for him to “suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2:3). Paul finishes the second letter with further instruction for Timothy to operate from a position of confident strength. “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (4:1-2).

Another misunderstanding by Christians is that humility requires that we forgo achievement, initiative, and excellence. Once again, I suspect Timothy needed Paul to teach him that humility does not mean that. Paul clearly describes humble behavior throughout both letters to Timothy, but has a need to challenge Timothy to step up to the plate and knock a homerun. In the first letter Paul says, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather . . . show yourself an example of those who believe” (4:12). He follows that with: “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (4:16). In his second letter Paul admonishes, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed” (2:15).

Paul was an humble man and taught Timothy by word and example how to be humble. It seems to me, though, he had to help Timothy understand these two things about humility. The unselfish, devoted, humble life for a bond-slave of Jesus Christ is not one of weakness and failure. It is a life of strength and diligence. I trust Paul will forgive me if I put unintended words into his mouth. But, I can almost hear him firmly speaking to Timothy: get your lazy self up, stop listening to foolishness (2:2:23), stop doubting your calling and God’s gift within you, “endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry!”(2:4:5). It is a lesson many need to be taught about the humble life.

H is for . . .

H is for the HELP you give your neighbor,
U UNSELFISHNESS that knows enough,
M is for your MEEK and MILD behavior,
B is for the BIBLE that you love,
L because you’re LEANING on the Savior,
E is for EXALTING God above.
Put them all together they spell HUMBLE,
Humble as a lamb, a child, a DOVE

by Norman Drummond

Humble Identity

There seems to be an incongruity between the importance of humility in the Bible and the importance given it by the church. I contend that humble should be heralded as who believers are. If church mottos are attempts at defining who or what visitors will find within our walls, they make my point that humility is not high on our list of what identifies us. A list of popular church mottos reveals the lack of reference to “humble.”

Many mottos express the message: “we care about you.” Join our church and it is “the end of your search for a friendly church.” It is expressed by some with, “Always a Place For You.” Some churches simply claim they are, “A People Who Care.” Maybe this is all based on the belief that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.

Another focus of church mottos is the idea of “community.” Their purpose is “Building a Community of Grace.” Some alliteration makes the motto more meaningful and monumental: “A Place to Believe, Belong, and Become.” I like the warmth in this motto: “Large Enough to Serve You, Small Enough to Know You.”

One of the more popular ideas churches desire to convey in their motto is that of “growth.” Churches proudly hale: “A Growing Church Serving A Growing Community.” Even if that was never true, the church will put it on the bulletin every week. A motto that unites the two ideas of community and growth is the phrase, “Growing Together.” For me, that conjures up pictures that I am sure were not intended. The motto I most enjoy belonged to a church with a cemetery behind it. “Dead Out Back, Alive Inside.”

The messages of some mottos seem intentionally vague and lacking substance, like this one: “Rooted, Relevant and Real.” I have poked fun at one local church’s motto that states its name followed with, “A Good Idea!” A better motto might be: “You Should Come, It’s Not That Bad.” Why don’t we be a little more ambiguous by adopting the motto: “Watch Out!”

Latin phrases make good mottos. It is too bad the Marines took the phrase “Semper fidelis” (always faithful). That would make a great church motto. A church with a powerful evening worship could add a twist to another well known Latin phrase with, “Carpe noctum! (Seize the night). How about this for a good Baptist church: “Veni, Vidi, Dormivi” (I came, I saw, I slept). A great motto for the contemporary church is: “Ventis secundis, tene cursum” (Go with the flow).

Where are the mottos that place value on humility. Allow me to offer a few. Alliteration: “Holy, Happy and Humble.” Caring: “We Ain’t Too Proud To Serve You?” Community: “Our Humility Brings Us Together.” Growth: “Big Enough To Be Humble.” Ambiguous: “Who? Me?” Latin: "Quidvis Recte Factum Quamvis Humile Praeclarum" (Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble). I must offer just two more possibly great mottos. “Come on in, but leave your pride at the door.” Or, “We’re Not Proud, Seriously!”

Unselfish Days

It is my contention that humility is a spirit of selflessness while pride is the spirit of selfishness. A test of humility is a test to find evidence of unselfish behavior. A nineteenth century novelist and poet named Mary Anne Evans wrote a poem that invites us to view our day from this perspective. She is better known by her nom de plume George Eliot and her novel Silas Marner. Here is her poem titled, Count That Day Lost.

If you sit down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That eased the heart of him who heard,
One glance most kind
That fell like sunshine where it went –
Then you may count that day well spent.

But if, through all the livelong day,
You’ve cheered no heart, by yea or nay –
If, through it all
You’ve nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face –
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost –
Then count that day as worse than lost.

I think I could interpret this to say: "a day without humility is like a day without sunshine." Those looking forward to an humble man's company might easily say of his arrival: "here comes the sun."

A Humilitarized Zone

Have you ever been in a room of people where everyone present, including yourself, were being humble? You all treated each other with extreme respect and were more interested in others than yourselves? Everyone was soft spoken and it felt like no one was being judged? Have you ever been in that kind of humble environment where you were totally unconcerned about what others were thinking about you and completely enthralled by those in the room with you? Can you remember a time when you were caring so much about people you were with that you didn’t do any analyzing, second guessing, interrupting, attempting to please and impress, or playing games? You didn’t care if anyone listened to you, laughed at your story, or noticed you? What a sane and peaceful time that would be; to bask in the warmth of selflessness; to bath in the serenity of humility. Have you ever been there, in an estrogen and testosterone free room, in a place far from vanity and pride? Have you ever enjoyed the company of people with no wood or plastic, only tender flesh untainted by gall? Were you ever a part of a mild-mannered meeting of genuinely meek and gracious men and women having no agenda, nothing to gain, and not needing to be petted or praised? Have you been in the midst of a humilitarized zone like this unassisted by drugs, alcohol, or lack of sleep and not on the top floor of a hospital? Me either.

Sickness and Death

Sickness and death can be greeted with humility or with angry and pernicious pride. The prideful one asks “Why me, Lord?” while the humble one asks “Is that you, Lord?” When suffering comes, pride asks, “What did I do to deserve this?” while humility asks, “How Lord will you use this for your glory?” We recognize a prideful response when every sentence is full of “I.” The humble response is full of “Thy.” Sadly, the prideful man faces sickness and death with unrest, resentment, and feelings of loss. The humble man faces the same circumstances with peace, contentment, and feeling embraced. Disease and death are defeat and loss of pride for the proud. Humility accepts them as part of God’s plan to reveal His power, glory, faithfulness and trustworthiness. The humble man doesn’t love sickness and death anymore that the prideful man does. But, the humble man isn’t afraid when they come knocking. The prideful one may find his faith shaken by suffering. The humble one discovers in the midst of suffering his faith grows stronger.

If there is pain, distress, misery, affliction;
Don’t add to your plight a big “I me” addiction.
Humble yourself as in all situations;
God is near, be prepared for some new revelations.

Listen To Your Critics

It is not only okay to listen to your critics, it is wise to do so. There are many things which benefit you to hear that you will never hear from friends and supporters. Valuable things. Friends won’t tell you that your breathe stinks, that your ideas stink, or that your advisors stink. They may not even tell you that your fly is open. Those are things your critics don’t mind telling you. You could be about to make a disastrous decision and not know it if you only listen to friends. I have known commanding officers who were so intent on hearing only positive feedback that they were eventually caught off guard by reality.

The kingdom of Israel was divided into Israel and Judah because Solomon’s son Rehoboam would not listen. “But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him.” (1 Kings 12:8) Balaam learned that good advice comes sometimes from a donkey. (Numbers 22:22-33) Solomon’s wisdom tells us, “Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22) To get one point of view you only need one counselor. If everyone to whom you listen agrees with you, there has been very little counsel received. Only after you have heard many counselors with both positive and critical advice, are you prepared to make the best decision.

It is pride that gets in the way of good decision making. Pride wants to ignore the complainer, attacker, disputer, doubter, commentator, and pundit. Humility allows the words of even the harshest opponent to stand beside words from friends and make their claim. Humility judges the words on their merit, not upon who delivered them or how they were delivered. Pride can’t do that. Pride resists recommendations that conflict with one’s own pet opinions. That resistance can sometimes be one’s downfall. Humility is not afraid to agree with what was initially unthinkable. It is the humble mind that is open and the prideful one that is closed. My prayer is that our President and both political parties in both houses of Congress will be humble in their decision making. Only then do Americans stand a chance of reaping the results of the wisest decisions coming from Washington.

You Might Be Humble If . . .

I tried this once before. Let’s examine the question, “You might be humble if. . .” Is that a question? The question is, “how do you complete that sentence?” Here goes.

You might be humble if you had a choice between attending the funeral of someone you barely knew or spending the day walking through an antique mall and you chose the first. Okay, so I chose the second, but I really didn’t know anyone who was at that funeral. So shoot me and then go to an antique mall during my funeral.

You might be humble if you found yourself arriving at the entrance to a store just ahead of an elderly woman and you paused to hold the door open for her before you entered. Of course, you may have been very humble but needed to get inside to the bathroom really, really fast and the woman was really, really, really slow.

You might be humble if you stopped at a red light behind a silver Ford Explorer which was unaware when the light changed to green and made you sit through another red light but you sat calmly refusing to honk or act unseemly. Even if you imagined yourself in a monster big-wheeler rolling your tires over the inconsiderate cell-phone talker’s SUV, you still behaved with humility.

You might be humble if you were in a theatre sitting next to a family of six, not including dad who was probably enjoying time away from his noisy, odor-some offspring, and even though you were trying to watch a movie you had been excited about seeing, you dodged popcorn and stupid questions without a scowl or growl and even patted one of the sticky children on the head not very hard as the movie ended and you departed.

You might be humble if you went through an entire Monday at work without a mention of the terribly frustrating weekend you survived and made no one aware of the heights of humbleness you climbed or the depths of humility through which you waded not wishing to call attention to the volumes of virtue from which you could elucidate but won’t.

Yeah! So there!

Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

Here is Pastor Rick Warren’s invocation at the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States on January 20th, 2009.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story. The scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, The Lord is our God. The Lord is one,” and you are the compassionate and merciful one and you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today we rejoice, not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our first African American President of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new President Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice-President Biden, The Cabinet, and everyone of our freely elected leaders. Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you – forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone – forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve – forgive us.

And, as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes even when we differ. Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation, and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new President, and his wife Michelle, and his daughters Malia and Sasha, into your loving care. I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life: Yeshua, Esaa, Jesus, Jesus . . . who taught us to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

10 Most Humble Phrases

Researchers at Oxford University compiled a list of the top 10 most irritating expressions.

1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
4. At this moment in time
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It’s a nightmare
8. Shouldn’t of
9. 24/7
10. It’s not rocket science

I personally, at this moment in time, would have included “when pigs fly” and “duuuh,” with all due respect. I, of course, am more interested in what would be the 10 most humble phrases? Here are those phrases, in my humble opinion. You may notice that I left out “I’m sorry" (because love means never saying that). I also threw out “it’s my fault” and “go ahead, I deserve it.” I attribute these phrases to low self-esteem, not humility. I would be interested to know which of these ten the reader would omit and what phrases the reader would add. I submit these after very little thought.

10. You choose, it doesn’t matter to me
9. I don’t want it, you can have it
8. Are you okay?
7. You are amazing.
6. And then what happened?
5. Please forgive me
4. What can I do to help?
3. I missed you
2. Thank you
1. God bless you.

Descend to Reascend

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7) In the excerpt below, C.S. Lewis describes the humility involved in this incarnation of Christ.

In the Christian story God descends to reascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still, if embryologists are right, to recapitulate in the womb ancient and prehuman phases of life; down to the very roots and seabed of the nature He had created. But he goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders. Or one may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in midair, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the deathlike region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to color and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover. He and it are both colored now that they have come up into the light: down below, where it lay colorless in the dark, he lost his color too.

In this descent and renascent everyone will recognize a familiar pattern; a thing written all over the world. It is the pattern of all vegetable life. It must belittle itself into something hard, small and deathlike, it must fall into the ground: thence the new life reascends. It is the pattern of all animal generation too. There is descent from the full and perfect organism into the spermatozoon and ovum, and in the dark womb a life at first inferior in kind to that of the species which is being reproduced: then the slow ascent to perfect embryo, to the living, conscious baby, and finally to the adult. . . .Through this bottleneck, this belittlement, the highroad nearly always lies.

(C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian)

God becoming flesh is amazing and magnificent. The highroad for the follower of Christ is always this position of humility that is willing to stoop to stand, to fall in order to rise, to lose to gain, to submit in order to subdue, to be lowly so that God may lift us up. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, . . . (1 Peter 5:6)

Church Bats

Sunday’s guest preacher had to cope with a bat flying overhead and a congregation of bat gazers.

Each unique moment becomes an opportunity to learn more about humbleness. With every event the humble person ought to ask, “How can I think and act humbly in this situation?” The quickest way to answer that is to determine if we are responding with selfish or selfless motives. If we are reacting selfishly then we are not acting humbly. If we are thinking about how circumstances are bothering me, upsetting me, inconveniencing me, worrying me, disturbing me, costing me, damaging my image, or making me look bad, then we will not be acting humbly. If we are thinking about how circumstances will affect others, harm others, discourage others, worry others, or humiliate others, then we may act out of humility. If, however, we act in a situation, out of concern for others, but hope to gain something for ourselves in the process, then our response is probably not going to be a very humble one still. It is very difficult to remove consideration for self from our thinking and acting.

As I sat in the audience completely horrified at what I was witnessing, my first response was to pray, “Please dear God, give that bat a massive heart attack. Now!” I then did that thing where you stare intently at the object of ire expecting your glare to work like a magnifying glass, causing the bat to burst into flames, or something. It didn’t. Next, I imagined myself running across the top of congregate’s heads like a China-man in “Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger” until I soared upward and snatched the bat out of thin air. It would be awesome if I could do something cool to fix our bat problem. It wouldn’t be very humble though. Living for Christ isn’t about being cool or awesome. It is about being a bond-servant for Jesus and loving those whom God created and loves.

In my desire to destroy the bothersome bat, I failed to recognize the flying interference as a work of wonder by Almighty God. An humble reaction to this unusual happening might be to absorb the sermon, while appreciating all God’s creatures to include the only one present with the gift of self-levitation. After all, if I destroy this distraction, what happens next week when I am the cause of the commotion? Humility involves valuing life regardless of how that life may interfere with my plans, my path, or my peace. Our pride wants to dismiss some life as unworthy of our love. Our humility enables us to reach out to the most detestable, despicable and distasteful lives around us, and care about them . . . even if they should fly over and poop on our head. That would be another opportunity to learn more about being humble.

The Birth Of Jesus

It feels a little like we are disrespecting God when we describe His humanness and humbleness at birth. God incarnate was intentionally incarnatized as a baby. We have a hard time accepting the unvarnished vision of that. Are you offended by the idea of the Powerful Potentate in poopie pants? I don’t believe God was offended. After all, He created the whole child-bearing process. He was born via the birth canal of a woman. He cried. He wet his swaddling cloths (definition: cloths intended for swaddling). And, yes, he passed gas and a whole lot more. I think we need to accept all of the birth stuff: nine months of womb life, labor pains, blood, placenta, dirty diapers, breast-feeding in the middle of the night, crying, screaming, goo-ing and cooing. Amazing! God with us. Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

The terribly vulgar and incredibly stupid Ricky Bobby in the movie Talladega Nights explained to his complaining wife, “I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace you can say it to grown up Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus.” He began his prayer at dinner, “Dear Lord Baby Jesus.” No Ricky Bobby. When you pray, you must pray to the risen Lord. It is upon His authority as the one who paid the price for our sin through his death on the cross, and rose from the grave conquering death, that we who receive Him as Savior and Lord, have the privilege of addressing the Father in His name. As long as we understand that, we can muse over Ricky Bobby’s “tiny infant Jesus” prayer. After others at the table interrupted his prayer, he started over with this: “Dear Baby Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers with your tiny little balled-up fist.” After another interruption, he tried again: “Dear 8 pound 6 ounce newborn, infant Jesus . . . don’t even know a word . . . just a little infant so cuddly, but still omnipotent. . . . Thank you for all your power and grace, dear baby God, Amen.”

Blasphemous? In the context and spirit of the movie, I would call it very distasteful. But, as a child of God who is awed and amazed by the humility of the birth of God’s son, I choose to enjoy the playfulness of it. Almighty God, whom I love with all my heart, became a baby in the same painful, rude, traumatizing, yet wonderfully exciting family experience that you and I had. The writer of Hebrews tells it like this. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

The Christmas Story

What Christian characteristic is most celebrated in the Christmas story? There are three.

Joy: “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.”
Peace: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men.”
Love: “For God so loved the world that He sent His Son.”

It is about these three that all the Christmas songs, cards, sermons, and decorations celebrate.

What Christian character is least celebrated at Christmas? Humility
What Christian character is most represented? Humility
What Godly characteristic is most evident? Humility

Philippians 2:3-8 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Jesus was not born in a prestigious town.
His mother and father were not high society.
He did not enter the world in robes of purple.
He did not carry a jeweled scepter.
He did not come to us in gleaming glory.
He did not burst on to the scenes of history riding a white horse.
He was not escorted by the wealthy or powerful.
He did not achieve, acquire, triumph, or climb the ladder of success.
He had no long life to leave a legacy.
When taken to court, no high priced lawyers defended Him.
When sentenced he received no leniency.
His death was not heroic, daring, or noble.

He was born
In a little town called Bethlehem,
To a virgin,
And a carpenter,
In a cave,
Surrounded by hay and stars,
And welcomed by shepherds.
Later welcomed by a few unknown wisemen from a foreign country.
For His first birthday soldiers killed all the male babies two years old and younger.
He grew up as a redneck from Galilee,
Became an itinerate preacher,
Surrounded himself with fishermen and outcasts,
And was on the public scene only briefly.
Ultimately, His followers deserted Him.
Liars and schemers had him arrested, tried, and convicted.
He was publicly whipped and beaten mercilessly.
While waiting his execution, he was rideculed and rudely mistreated.
He was forced to carry the instrument of his death through the streets.
He was hung as a criminal on a cross.
Even while dying, he was mocked and tormented.

Humility was evident from the Godhead, to the manger, in Galilee, in His gospel, entering the Golden Gate, in the grape juice, in the Garden, in the synagogue, at Golgotha, and the grave.

1 Peter 1:18-19 "Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ."

That which purchased our salvation was humble blood, offered humbly upon a cross, by God who humbly stepped away from His throne to humbly express His unconditional love for sinners, through an act of humble sacrifice, providing the price for sin which his holy character required.