Humility: The Paradox of God's Favor
"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross.” -- Philippians 2:8
As I take some time to ponder the passion of Christ this week, I'm humbled by Paul's description of Jesus in this passage. This simple phrase captures the two greatest humiliations ever -- God becoming a man, and that God-man dying by crucifixion.
"...Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).
Do you desire God's favor upon your life? I imagine you don't need much time to answer that question. We all want God's favor upon us. What strikes me in the above passage is that Jesus was exalted (shown favor) by the Father because of His willingness to suffer humility. We want freedom from what binds us, joyful spirits, and favor in our relationships and circumstances; but do we understand the virtue of humility in positioning our hearts for His favor? (1 Pet. 5:6)
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened (spiritually, emotionally), and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (freedom and joy) for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). Experiencing true rest seems intricately related to our willingness to yoke ourselves with the one who is humble.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:3) Those who are humble are the ones who will experience the kingdom.... power, love, gifts, wisdom, joy, etc..
We are by nature proud. It is the gravitational pull of our fallen minds. Most of our pride is unperceived -- hidden from our view -- yet largely responsible for the corrosive impact in our relationships. Most of us are socially sophisticated enough to avoid blatant pride by politely honoring social etiquette. This is not where we find it. Our pride most often lies subtly hidden in our attitudes, especially related to our knowledge, dedication, and the way we relate. Pride can also be associated with our gifting, anointing, appearance, resources, and positions of influence.
During this week, on your journey to embrace the humility of the Cross, I encourage you to pray through the following "seven evidences of humility." This is by no means an exhaustive list, but find a quiet time to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. I have failed in all these areas, yet am praying for the faithfulness to persevere in these. May God give you this same grace.
Evidence #1: Teachable spirit -- Being eager to learn from others, and easy to correct. Humility is quick to hear / be taught, and is slow to speak -- to correct and instruct others (Jas. 1:19). Pride seeks to quickly speak or teach others instead of being quick to be taught (or hear). It is expressed in a condescending attitude with an inappropriate confidence about what's true.
(1 Cor. 8:1, 1 Cor. 3:18, James 1:19).
Evidence #2: Sees personal faults -- Humility is quick to take responsibility for personal faults and relational infractions. Pride does not see personal faults. It is quick to blame, be defensive, frustrated, and acknowledge the errors of others.
Evidence #3: Grateful spirit -- Humility sees we are getting a better deal than we deserve (if ALL the information was considered). Pride complains much, feels mistreated, and has a spirit of entitlement.
Evidence #4: Sees the value of others -- Humility has a deep awareness of others. Everyone has an important story that involves their joy, pain, lack, gifts, and agenda. Pride is self-absorbed, distracted with emotional traffic, seeking to manage many of our negative emotions. It blocks our ability to think about or address the impact on others.
Evidence #5: Kind with faults -- Humility is kind and patient with the faults of others. It is not easily insulted, offended, or angered. Pride is quickly exasperated with the faults of others and easily annoyed. The measure of our anger is often the measure of our unperceived pride.
Evidence #6: Does good in secret -- Humility does good in secret because it first seeks approval and recognition from God instead of people (Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18). We naturally draw attention to how devoted, smart, diligent, anointed, and generous we are (with money and time).
Evidence #7: Seeks the benefit of others -- Humility uses its position of influence to benefit others. Pride leads others with a subtle, yet self-serving agenda (Phil. 2:3-5, Prov. 18:23).
Jesus was the one who had the most beauty, money, talent, knowledge, and authority, yet operated as one who was poor in spirit. May the glory of Christ shine brightly through you as you receive His grace to take on the yoke of humility. I believe that our willingness to accept humility in this hour isn't worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in the next hour (Rom. 8:18).
Kraig Skistad
"And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross.” -- Philippians 2:8
As I take some time to ponder the passion of Christ this week, I'm humbled by Paul's description of Jesus in this passage. This simple phrase captures the two greatest humiliations ever -- God becoming a man, and that God-man dying by crucifixion.
"...Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).
Do you desire God's favor upon your life? I imagine you don't need much time to answer that question. We all want God's favor upon us. What strikes me in the above passage is that Jesus was exalted (shown favor) by the Father because of His willingness to suffer humility. We want freedom from what binds us, joyful spirits, and favor in our relationships and circumstances; but do we understand the virtue of humility in positioning our hearts for His favor? (1 Pet. 5:6)
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened (spiritually, emotionally), and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (freedom and joy) for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). Experiencing true rest seems intricately related to our willingness to yoke ourselves with the one who is humble.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:3) Those who are humble are the ones who will experience the kingdom.... power, love, gifts, wisdom, joy, etc..
We are by nature proud. It is the gravitational pull of our fallen minds. Most of our pride is unperceived -- hidden from our view -- yet largely responsible for the corrosive impact in our relationships. Most of us are socially sophisticated enough to avoid blatant pride by politely honoring social etiquette. This is not where we find it. Our pride most often lies subtly hidden in our attitudes, especially related to our knowledge, dedication, and the way we relate. Pride can also be associated with our gifting, anointing, appearance, resources, and positions of influence.
During this week, on your journey to embrace the humility of the Cross, I encourage you to pray through the following "seven evidences of humility." This is by no means an exhaustive list, but find a quiet time to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. I have failed in all these areas, yet am praying for the faithfulness to persevere in these. May God give you this same grace.
Evidence #1: Teachable spirit -- Being eager to learn from others, and easy to correct. Humility is quick to hear / be taught, and is slow to speak -- to correct and instruct others (Jas. 1:19). Pride seeks to quickly speak or teach others instead of being quick to be taught (or hear). It is expressed in a condescending attitude with an inappropriate confidence about what's true.
(1 Cor. 8:1, 1 Cor. 3:18, James 1:19).
Evidence #2: Sees personal faults -- Humility is quick to take responsibility for personal faults and relational infractions. Pride does not see personal faults. It is quick to blame, be defensive, frustrated, and acknowledge the errors of others.
Evidence #3: Grateful spirit -- Humility sees we are getting a better deal than we deserve (if ALL the information was considered). Pride complains much, feels mistreated, and has a spirit of entitlement.
Evidence #4: Sees the value of others -- Humility has a deep awareness of others. Everyone has an important story that involves their joy, pain, lack, gifts, and agenda. Pride is self-absorbed, distracted with emotional traffic, seeking to manage many of our negative emotions. It blocks our ability to think about or address the impact on others.
Evidence #5: Kind with faults -- Humility is kind and patient with the faults of others. It is not easily insulted, offended, or angered. Pride is quickly exasperated with the faults of others and easily annoyed. The measure of our anger is often the measure of our unperceived pride.
Evidence #6: Does good in secret -- Humility does good in secret because it first seeks approval and recognition from God instead of people (Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18). We naturally draw attention to how devoted, smart, diligent, anointed, and generous we are (with money and time).
Evidence #7: Seeks the benefit of others -- Humility uses its position of influence to benefit others. Pride leads others with a subtle, yet self-serving agenda (Phil. 2:3-5, Prov. 18:23).
Jesus was the one who had the most beauty, money, talent, knowledge, and authority, yet operated as one who was poor in spirit. May the glory of Christ shine brightly through you as you receive His grace to take on the yoke of humility. I believe that our willingness to accept humility in this hour isn't worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in the next hour (Rom. 8:18).
Kraig Skistad