Humble/Humility
According to the dictionary, the definition of the word humble is: “Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful.” The definition of humility is “the quality or condition of being humble.” What a great word with which to begin our discussion!
you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
Psalms
I could not possibly talk about each of these occurrences at this juncture. I will be writing for days. Let me just briefly, make two points for now:
First, lets look at Jesus Christ himself. We can read the Gospels and/or reflect on the movie, “The Passion Of The Christ”. I would say that He is humility personified. He was not arrogant or prideful and He certainly was modest in the way that He carried Himself. He also happens to be the Standard that we as Christians must try to emulate in our quest toward eternal salvation!
Second, lets look at what Jesus said to His disciples:
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comfor
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecu
11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecu
Matt 5:1-12 (NRSV)
posted by aperitis | 22:48
4 Comments:
VCamp November 19,2004 15:38 EST
How do any of us become humble, or more humble? How do we change any of our behaviors or thoughts? The ways of the world certainly do not help us focus on being humble because our "go to the head of the class" society does not value humility as a desirable characteristic. If we have worked a lifetime to develop a mind set of competition and fulfillment of all our perceived desires at any cost, then trying to change the focus from self magnification and gratification is difficult at best. We do not fool God; the scriptures tell us He searches our hearts and our minds. The first step to change is by hearing (or reading) God's word, which then convicts us that we need to change, we become conscious of sin. Romans 12 states: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your MIND." Personally, I have found this to be a very SLOW process. Some days, I can't say I'm any further ahead in my Christian walk than I was years ago, and even the converse. But I know that I have a personal relationship with Jesus, I see my prayers answered, and I know that I would never want to live my life without His protection and guidance. My gratefulness to Him inspires me to try however unsuccessful the results, as I also believe I am forgiven. Satan would lie to us and create doubt concerning all our attempts to change, but greater is He who lives in me than he who lives in the world.
MCamp November 19,2004 20:10 EST
First of all, I believe being humble is a gift of the Holy Spirit. I think it is hard for us to be humble for a long period of time. Our human nature, sometime, somewhere, is going to win out over our humility and humbleness. In order to be humble, I think we first have to be honest with ourselves and have a degree of integrity. Many times when we think we are being humble, if we truly look at it and are honest with ourselves, we are not that humble. If honesty and integrity are a virtue (Ps 25:21), then where does humbleness fit into our lives? Solomon tells us in Proverbs 3:31-35, that God mocks the mockers but gives grace to the humble. I personally find it hard to be humble. I am a very giving person; does that make me a humble person in god's eyes? I am not sure. Who is going to judge the degree of humility that each of us has? Not me, that is for sure. If the scriptures tell us not to be judgmental, then how do we know, other than Christ, who is or ever was humble? All I know is this: I study the Bible, I read Christian books, I go to Bible studies, I go to church every Sunday and try to live a Christian life. If somewhere in there I have a little humbleness and it makes god happy, then I am happy. God bless!
Dan November 29,2004 10:00 EST
Excellent. I have a couple unusual thoughts about humility.
Even the most devout Christian is confronted at times with doubts. I certainly am. These doubts do not necessarily linger or erode our faith (they can and do strengthen it), but they are a by-product of the nature of God's creation and His plan. Those who do not believe routinely will point at the "unnecessary" obscurity of God's message and plan. God never bridges that gap of proof that the agnostic often demands. And why is this so? Why is faith the essential step in the Christian process? CS Lewis says that God "cannot ravish, only woo" (I paraphrase there). Why cannot God ravish? Besides the obvious abrogating our moral free will, God, I believe, seeks to slay the dragon of human pride, of human arrogance. When pride dies, humility flourishes. How can one be prideful in the face of fierce and sometimes compelling doubt? One cannot. It is, in part, an act of great humility to set aside the demands of our overweening intellect and secular worldview influences and have faith.
The paradoxical contentment and power of Christianity that comes from a humble heart and faith in the face of doubt is God's temporal gift, a gift that we cannot glimpse without humility.
Abbi November 22,2004 23:30 EST
I came across this paragraph in the book im
reading now ("Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte):
"Humility, Jane," said he, "is the groundwork of Christian virtues: you say right that you are not
fit for the work. Who is fit for it? Or who, that ever was truly called, believed himself worthy
of the summons? I, for instance, am but dust and ashes. With St. Paul, I acknowledge myself the
chiefest of sinners: but I do not suffer this sense of my personal vileness to daunt me. I know my
Leader: that He is just as well as mighty; and while he has chosen a feeble instrument to perform a
great task, He will, from the boundless stores of His providence, supply the inadequacy of the
means to the end. Think like me, Jane - trust like me. It is the Rock of Ages I ask you to lean on:
do not doubt but it will bear the weight of your human weakness."
I think that being humble is putting all your fears and doubts behind you. God's "weakness" is far
greater than our biggest strength. To refuse, or to be afraid to do something for God because we
don't think we are qualified, is to lack the humble act of putting God's abilities above our own.
That's all I can think of for now. Thanks for including me in the discussion!
abbi
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