What would you say about a homeless man who was gifted a home and a million dollars, but went around boasting as if the gift was not a gift but a result of his genius and hard work? Worse, he proceeded to judge others living on the streets as lazy and lacking honor. What would you say about a boy playing baseball, his father having held his hands on the bat while they swung together, hitting a towering homerun into the bushes in the back of the yard, but followed with boasting in his own skill to hit a homerun without acknowledging his father at all? You would probably smile at his childlike foolishness, certainly a different reaction to the homeless turned wealthy man.
How about a child completely lacking honor, reverence, obedience, and acknowledgement for the provision and care given her by her parents? A girl worse than your prototypical spoiled brat. I think we would all be less likely to smile. I think we would be willing to say that child needs to be disciplined and humbled. There is no doubt it is the godly thing to be done.
Hebrews 12:9-10 says, “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.” Being “subject to the Father” breathes humility. And being subject to Him means not torture and it should never breed fear of evil, as might have been the case for some with their earthly fathers. Certainly, every earthly father does “as seemed best to them” in the moment, whether good or evil. But God never makes a mistake. Notice in the passage, being subject to God the Father and His discipline means always “that we may share His holiness” and that to “live.” Both of which should be obvious is for “our good.”
James 4
If you read part 1 on humility, you saw that humility begins with our relationship and posture towards God. We must become subject to God, being willing to submit our lives to Him. And His grace is what we will receive in return. James 4:6-7 says, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Submit to God in humility and He will give you grace. He will give you what is good, His holiness and life. Life and creation is a gift from Him to begin with, but when we turn back to Him in belief and realization of this, in humility, we receive more grace; grace upon grace rather than death.
And so, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (Js. 4:8-10). The homeless man gifted a million dollars strutted around in laughter, boasting in His newfound wealth and joy. Though, according to God’s word, what is good for him is that he return to the giver and admit his foolishness. If he falls on his knees in thankfulness while exuding the gloom of mourning and weeping, being miserable over his sin of arrogance, the giver may very well lift him up and give him something greater than before; he’ll give him riches eternally in his own house.
All the same for the spoiled brat. Rather than assuming she is free from submission, being able to do as she pleases like those who say in James 4:13, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit,” she should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that” (Js. 4:15). “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil” (v.16). May she be miserable and mourn and weep because of her arrogance. She is at the mercy of the one who gives and provides all things. May she admit in humility she has not a clue or authority over what tomorrow might bring (v.14). “Lord, if you will it, I will do this or that.” If the Lord wills it.
In Truth
Yet, it must be true from the heart. God is not an earthly father, mostly ignorant of what is truly at work. In all of our doings, He sees whether you and I believe in truth these realities. It is very likely there are many who have not submitted to God’s authority but may only weep and mourn because of fear of punishment. Some might put on a façade of weeping and humility only to avoid punishment and in turn gain their own evil desires.
Going back to James, chapter 4, we see it said in verse 3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” So then, some clearly go to the Lord, but not in submission to and belief in the good of His will. Instead, they do so for their own pleasures. Maybe worse, they believe they can dupe the Lord of Lords by playing humble, saying the right things but their heart being far from Him. They might even feel humility coursing through their bones through prayer, action among others, or some other way, feeling confident they have done good. All the while if they looked deep down within, being honest with themselves, something else like pride or arrogance would be the gravity moving those choices. Or else trying to fight its way into the mix.
Pride, haughtiness, and arrogance are the work of the devil. These things are so ardently at work in us that we must be diligent to keep watch for their evidence. They lie deep down within us, ready to slither out from hiding, even when we believe we are walking well. Each time they do, we must come to God in earnestness for mercy, deliverance, truth, and to bless us with real humility. It is no wonder Paul writes Timothy instruction not to allow a new convert to become an overseer in the church. Or else he might, “Become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6).
I believe the humility we strive to know is found in the thought and realization of Paul, written in 2 Corinthians 3:5-6. It runs directly against what the new convert potentially becoming an overseer is tempted with. Speaking of his ministry, Paul says, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant…”. We are not adequate in ourselves as nothing comes from ourselves. Instead, our adequacy is from God as He makes us adequate. That is an understanding of humility and I firmly believe is the attitude and understanding we should have towards everything in our lives.
I am not wealthy or successful in work because of abilities I have fostered in and of myself. God has made me adequate in these things. He has planned my steps and allotted my place of habitation. He has formed me in the womb, creating in me the traits that I would possess and planning my life in such a way that I would build on those traits. I am not an adequate father or mother because an ability to love, manage, discipline, listen, guide, be creative, counsel, shepherd, and understand my children is something I have empowered myself to do. No, God empowered and made me adequate in these things.
I am not understanding of right morals, ethics, and logic, with the ability to carry them out in my living because I am genius and pious from my own innate or learned power. No, God has the sole rights to right morals, ethics, logic, and truth. It is of His very nature and His, alone. Let me reemphasize that last sentence. It is God’s nature and His and only His absolutely innate self that contains these things, including everything else that is right, good, and powerful in existence. We are not like this. Anything of these things that we have are a gift from Him. They can come from no where else.
Where is Our Boasting?
Therefore, where is our boasting? It is in God, alone. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:30-31). Where is there room to think of ourselves as more important or wiser or better in any way towards another, whether inside or outside the church? It is God’s doing that you are in Christ Jesus! Rather, correct them in a spirit of gentleness so that you too will not be tempted (Gal. 6:1). “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:2-3). In other words, if you think yourself too wise, powerful, secure, or pious to fall into the same burden, you deceive yourself. You stand where you are because of Christ, not yourself.
It is with the same sentiment that Paul speaks in Romans 12:16, “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” If we tie this verse in with Galatians 6:1-3 just referenced, we can gather that because each of us is in Christ by the Father’s doing, not our own doing, we can look at each other with humility of mind, not haughty in mind, being of the same mind toward one another. For what do any of us have that is our own?
There is no excuse for looking down on another, whether that person be inside or outside the church. Though, it must be worse to do so to one, inside. They are your brother and sister in Christ Jesus. Are you not subject to the same weaknesses? Or are you standing where you are, adequate in yourself by your own power? And I do not mean we should approve of a person’s sin. There is a real difference between sticking our nose in the air in disapproval and showing our disapproval by weeping. One is haughty and the other is humble.
With that said, I want to leave this post with Colossians 3:12-17. Humility is specified in the first verse, but it is also the rule for everything else that is said. Keep that in mind as you read.
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
P.S. I would fail miserably if I did not include Philippians 2:1-9. I encourage you to read that passage and notice how Jesus Christ has fulfilled everything God’s word teaches us about humility. Truly, this is the whole point of my writing about humility. We are to reflect Jesus in every way because He is the way, truth, and life.
-Pastor Ben