Listen: Chris Witts presents Morning Devotions.
By Chris WittsFriday 31 Dec 2021Morning Devotions with Chris WittsDevotionsReading Time: 5 minutes
Continuing from Part 1, I’m taking another look at humility—showing humility. The Bible in Mark 10 has this tremendous statement: “The Son of Man [that’s Jesus] did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” And the Apostle Paul wrote, ”He humbled himself to the point of death, even death on the cross”.
The Greeks and Romans of New Testament times scoffed at the idea of humbleness of heart. They felt it was a curse, foolishness and weakness. But Jesus took the word ‘humility’ and changed it into something strong and powerful.
We can probably think of names for perfume. Today I would like to imagine a fragrance called ‘Humility’. Like a typical perfume you put it on in the morning, and it makes a difference to the kind of person that you are. However instead of adding fragrance, let’s pretend for a moment this perfume ‘Humility’ changes the kind of person you are from the inside. Perfume for men and women. You put on ‘Humility’, and you will become different.
I have thought of four ways that people who use ‘Humility’ will be different.
People who use ‘Humility’ will be able to say sorry
Humble people are never so right that they do not need to say sorry, they do not think that they are so right that they do not require God’s forgiveness. If we are humble we know that we make mistakes, we all do. It costs nothing to say sorry—why are we so reluctant to do so? Perhaps it is about personal esteem and feeling that it is to lose face in the eyes of others, to admit that we were wrong. Human pride refuses to say sorry—people who use ‘Humility’ are willing to say sorry. They do not find excuses for their behaviour or blame others.
People who use ‘Humility’ don’t worry trying to impress other people
Use ‘Humility’ and you will not need to be boastful or overconfident. You need not worry about being ordinary, and this is an essential part of being humble. God likes ordinary people—that’s why he made so many of them. As babies we begin life understanding that we can make people approve of us and win favour, you can make people love you by what you do, you can earn approval. This is a lesson which many people never seem to grow out of, always wondering about what other people think of them.
Many people think that the only way to be loved and appreciated is to work hard and perform well. Is that one of the reasons why people work so hard? Is it to do with our loss of the belief in ourselves as God-created, God-loved? Perhaps the greatest reason for some people striving for worldly success is their own insecurity with themselves. Surely if we are happy and contented with ourselves then there is no need for striving for worldly success and approval?
We need to realise that God knows us thoroughly and loves us unconditionally, just for who we are. Each one of us is God-made, hand-made by God, and he doesn’t make rubbish. When we put on ‘Humility’ it is not a negative thing; it is rather something which can empower us. ‘Humility’ is not about low self-esteem; it doesn’t mean that we are content to be walked over. Low self-esteem finds itself with the need to prove ourselves, and if we have low self-esteem, we fear doing things publicly because we will risk criticism.
‘Humility’ allows us to be at peace in our eyes and in God’s eyes. ‘Humility’ means that we are not worried about trying to impress in the eyes of others. ‘Humility’ does not mean putting ourselves down all the time. We know that God loves us the way that we are. Some people are frightened that if they act like themselves, people won’t like them, but actually, we should not be so concerned. With God, we have nothing to prove, and so we can fully relax and be ourselves. God wants us to be ourselves!
People who use ‘Humility’ are prepared to learn
They don’t think that they know it all. They don’t pretend that they have so much wisdom that they do not need correction. This is a bit of a tightrope; we must be prepared to listen to criticisms which people make of us but at the end, we stand before God, and it is his judgement that counts. We listen to the criticism of friends, people who don’t enjoy criticising us but who want to build us up. Of course, some people are just not very helpful, but if we use ‘Humility’, we will be able to take practical advice and sincere instruction.
People who use ‘Humility’ are gentle with others
Humble people don’t criticise but are gentle with others failure. If we use ‘Humility’, we begin to realise that we are not so talented as not to require grace ourselves. We all make mistakes and if we have a good spray of ‘Humility’ we can honestly say, “There but for the grace of God go I”. And so if we are humble, we are automatically more tolerant of others and what we might perceive to be their weaknesses.
Of course, it is not possible to spray yourself with ‘Humility’. However, if we ask for God’s help each day before we go out, we can put on real humility, and it can stay with us and never wear off. It will take real commitment and yet it will empower us and make us much better people to live with, for ourselves and others. Of course, that will make us much more attractive, and we might not need expensive perfumes at all.
The Scripture says in Philippians 2:3 (GNT): “Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast; but be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves”.
It means we can trust God for every detail of life—he will work everything out, and this is based on a deep confidence that God is with you, not against you. For God resists the proud and shows favour to the humble. Humility forgets about self and lifts others up, looking to the needs of others.