Growth Points: Act with Humility

Why be humble?

“Now Moses was very humble – more humble than any other person on earth.”
-Numbers 12:3 (written by Moses)

This is one of my favourite Bible verses. According to Scripture, Moses was indeed a humble man. But to go so far as to record yourself saying you’re humble…doesn’t that defeat the purpose? It’s about the equivalent of me saying, “Thanks for visiting my website. It’s super awesome, but I’m being humble about it.”

What’s the point of humility? For us Westerners, why should we be humble? We live in the wealthiest part of the world, have access to the best technology Earth has ever seen, and have more material prosperity than anyone in history. Why shouldn’t we be proud of that?

Let me explain.

Today’s growth point is…

Humility is the gateway to Heaven. The opposite of humility is, naturally, pride. Pride is the entrance test to Heaven. If we embrace pride and scrap humility, why would we need God? If we can do it by ourselves, what’s the point in believing Jesus died to save us?

Pride is a slippery slope. To avoid this pitfall, we can look to Jesus, the most humble “man” who ever lived.

In His Words…

In Matthew 5:5 Jesus says,

“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole Earth.”

Jesus had it all. If you think your life is good, Jesus had it better. He was literally in Heaven. He didn’t need to visit Earth and redeem us. Yet Philippians 2:7 reads, “Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”

The life of Jesus is humility at its finest. If you wanna see someone living a life of zero pride, look no further. You’ll see it throughout the Gospels. Allow me to make this simple: We can only know God if we know how to be humble. If we believe we know everything, we leave no room to grow in our walk with God.

In Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest, one character stresses this point. She says,

“I have always been of the opinion that a man…should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know?”

Silly, I get it. But isn’t this true? In contrast to God’s knowledge database, we know nothing. Let’s admit it. Instead of falling for pride, we must acknowledge our brokenness and accept His yoke (Matthew 11:28-30).

But wait, there’s more, found in Proverbs 22:4: “True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honour, and long life.” If you think humility is a crutch to your lifestyle or plans, think again. Pride may pay off in this life, but it will kill you in the next life. Humility may not seem to pay off in this life, but it will reward you in the next life.

Room to Grow.

The root of humility is admitting that everything comes from God. Nothing you do is really the result of your achievements or talents. Rather, it’s the result of God working through or utilizing your achievements or talents. The devil wants you to believe that everything you have belongs to you. But who made it in the first place?

By surrendering my agenda and my pride before God, He unveils brand-new paths. In the last year, I’ve had opportunities that never would have worked out if it weren’t for God. Coincidences and circumstances “just lined up”. This only happened after I surrendered my agenda to Him and stepped forward in humility.

How about we examine four statements that the world wants us to believe, and then flip ’em so they align with what God wants?

Statements of (Not) Humility.

1. I’m the greatest.

“Everything they [the Pharisees] do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.”
-Matthew 23:5

Especially in pop culture, everything is about numbers and fame. There’s this endless quest to be #1, to be the best. Pretty soon, everything becomes about winning (who needs character when you have money?). When this happens, the devil always wins. Either we’re consumed by comparison because we’re not on top, or we’re consumed by pride because we are on top.

Truthfully, no worldly accomplishment matters. I don’t need to be the greatest at anything, as long as I’m doing what God calls me to do. This is a tricky pill to swallow, but God doesn’t call most of us to the top. There’s this misconception that you’re only “successful” or “good” if you’re the best. God doesn’t work that way. Almost everyone He calls on mission isn’t the greatest in their area, they’re just willing to follow Him.

So forget this nonsense about endlessly striving to be the greatest, and remember that…

God is the greatest.

2. I’ll do it myself.

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.’”
-Matthew 19:26

There’s a good and a not-so-good approach to this. On one hand, our culture loves doing nothing and doomscrolling on their cell phones. This calls for action. If God is asking you to do something, go and do it.

This becomes dangerous when I believe that I’m the one making things happen. Telling myself I don’t need others, and that I can do it myself, is pride. We can’t do anything without others, and especially not without God.

When I hear this phrase, I think of the endless movie quotes that go something like, “Fine, I have to do everything myself.” Rest assured that if you have God in your life, you don’t need to do anything alone. Don’t believe this lie that it has to be you, and only you. After all…

God is always with you, and He puts people in your life.

3. Look what I’ve accomplished.

“Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good!”
-Genesis 1:31

Sorry to say, but I often let pride slip into my thoughts. I look at something I’ve done and think it happened because of me. Then I remember that Genesis 1:31 does not say, “Then Samuel looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!”

Logic tells me that if God made the world, He made what’s inside the world. Nothing I accomplish is new to Him, because He created it. I think God must find it silly when we boast about the accomplishments we’ve made…using what He’s given us. Imagine God gave me a set of blueprints to create a building, and then after I finished, I gave myself the credit. Who gave me the blueprints in the first place? I wonder if this amuses God or saddens Him. Remember…

Everything we’ve accomplished is because of God.

4. It can’t be done without me.

“…Since He is LORD of Heaven and Earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples and human hands can’t serve His needs – for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.”
-Acts 17:24-25

This one is difficult for me, since it goes against the usual realm of pride. At church in particular, I’m quick to jump up and help whenever there’s a need. I love it, but I must be careful to avoid the “it-can’t-happen-without-me” mindset. God doesn’t need me, but He does want me. When I start thinking I’m indispensable, or that I’m needed to accomplish something, that’s pride.

God can do whatever He likes with or without me. He can do whatever He likes without any of us. He calls us each to a lane, and the last thing I want is to knock someone out of their lane by overachieving. After all…

What God wants will happen, whether I’m part of it or not.

In Summary.

In all four statements, it’s easy to toss humility and join team pride. Yet I hope you see that humility is as easy as turning your desires over to God and reminding yourself that He is our Creator and sustainer.

He is the greatest. He is with you. He enables you to accomplish works for His Kingdom. He makes everything happen.

Jesus stepped down from His throne to teach us a lesson in humility. If Jesus had acted with any trace of pride, He would never have rescued us. In our quest to be like Christ, we must do the same. Jesus knew where His power came from: God the Father. If we truly believe the same, then pride will vanish in no time.

But don’t just believe this. Act it out. As Micah 6:8 commands,

“The Lord has told you what is good and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”