True Humility
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4 NKJV)
In general, what we think is right is wrong. That is, what makes sense to us in a natural way is wrong when it comes to spiritual things. Here are some examples:
Children
We all want to be great in the Kingdom. We want to be “in charge”. We want to have respect. But the Lord says we must be like little children to be great
Who wants to be called a child? Children want to learn and often ask too many questions. Children are trusting until they have had adults misuse them. But we don’t usually ask children for their opinions. We want them to be seen and not heard. Humility requires us to lose our pride and self-seeking and to be child-like in our relationship with the Lord. He should be telling us what to do. We should not be telling Him.
Servants
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28 NKJV)
Nobody wants to the servant, we all want to be the boss. Instead of serving others we want to be served. We want to run the business. We generally do not want to be the low man on the organization chart who delivers the mail rather than barking the orders. Yet, the Lord washed the disciple feet at the Last Supper when in fact it would seem others should have been washing His.
Speaking
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
(James 1:19 NKJV)
Have you listened to our present-day newscasters? Have you noticed how they all interrupt each other if they are in a moderated discussion? Those who hang back don’t get a “word in edgewise.” I have noticed that the same thing happens in spiritual discussions. In open platform conferences, some preachers rush the platform. You would think the world was going to stop if they weren’t heard. And yet, we are to be listeners and we are to be slow to say anything.
Esteem
Now here is a tough one. Paul says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (Philippians 2:3 NKJV)
We go to school to become experts. We try to get the best “callings” so we can be successful in our ministries. I am surprised that some of us don’t hire agents and PR firms to get the word out as to how good we are in our ministries. Yet we are to have a lowly (I think that means humble) mind and we are to actually believe that others are “better” than we are. That might require us to step aside and let others do what we should not be doing.
Conclusion
The new birth changes things. What we think is right before we are saved is not the standard after we are saved. We must accept a gift with a thank you in order to be saved but logic says we must do something to “deserve” the grace that God is offering. After we are saved or “born again” we must recognize that we have been saved for a purpose and that purpose is not to promote self. That purpose is to glorify the Lord. The only person on this earth today that has gotten it right is the unnamed anonymous servant of the Lord. He is called the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that I might be more like John the Baptist who knew that the Lord must increase while he must decrease. I suspect that as long as we are determined to be greatest, we are going to miss the mark. But if we forget about our ambitions and promote the Lord, we just might start getting it right.
Lord, help me to think spiritually and not carnally. Help me to think like Christ and not like the Pharisees. Help me to learn true humility.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of January 27, 2019