Well, it’s another Sunday morning. “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:5-7 (ESV)
My grandmother was a crippled woman. As she got older she was stuck in a wheelchair. She had to learn at a very young age how to humble herself. She did it with so much grace, it was the most natural thing in the world. If you knew her, you would have thought she was the only normal one around and everyone else was doing this walk wrong. She was able to take her humility and make it one of her strongest characteristics.
The fact is, nowhere in the Bible we are told to “be humble.” Instead we are taught to Humble yourself. James 4:10 (ESV) “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” See, Christians get stuck in “acting” humble. Humility is not an act-thing or a feel-thing; it’s a do thing.
Humility is like raking leaves. What if I told you, “I’m thinking about raking the yard. In my mind I’m working in the yard and doing a lot of physical work this very minute.” Then I say, “I’m starting to feel exhausted from all the hard work that I am doing right this very second.” You would laugh because raking leaves is a do thing not a think thing. Humbling yourself can be just as hard a work, you need to really put in a lot of effort to accomplish it. When your life isn’t turning out the way you wanted, humble yourself. When you feel crushed under the weight of disappointment, humble yourself. When it’s hard to love the people God has placed in your life, humble yourself.
That’s what Jesus did. Look at John 13:3–5 (ESV) and notice all the verbs, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” Jesus; rose, laid, took, tied, poured, washed, and wiped. This wasn’t some kind of ceremony hours before Jesus went to the cross. He worked hard and got dirty for the sake of those He loved. Our LORD and Savior truly humbled Himself. He is telling us we should do the same thing too.
Here are a few ways to humble yourself: Apologize first when you need to apologize; Without being on the defense say, “I love you,” or “I have no excuse.” Then say, “I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” The first step in any real change you can make is knowing you have a problem and working to fix it.
All of our family would feel so much better, especially during this time of year, if we humbly said, “ You know, I really have a problem with _____ and I want to change that.” Grace will flow to humility. Humble yourself. As you do this, the list will grow and you will find many more ways you can walk humbly. You can take the more humble position and believe in the best about someone else, or assume that your view point isn’t the only one out there. Take the first steps and humble yourself. After all, it is a do thing.
So, let me ask you, Why did Jesus wash the disciples feet, the ultimate model of humility? Our LORD and Savior humbled Himself to the lowest job and washed the disciples’ feet only hours before the agony of the cross to teach us humility. So, as you think about His example, also listen to that still small voice that speaks to us in our quiet times and act on that humble action you are being lead to do.
Look, none of this is easy, in fact it is very hard to humble yourself sometimes. I’ll tell you this much, it’s the right thing to do. It will bring you rewards later in life. Sometimes even stepping away from an issue is a way to be humble. Pleasing God is the most important thing. God wants us to walk humbly, I am trying, it is a struggle for me sometimes and I am sure it is for you, too. I pray that you are blessed through this entire holiday season. I pray as you continue your life walk humbly you will always remember that God Truly loves each and every one of you, and so do I.
