Grace For The Humble Series

A computer whiz, a minister and a Boy Scout were the only passengers on a small commuter plane, when suddenly the pilot rushed back into the cabin and told them there was a mechanical problem and that the plane was losing altitude. He opened the storage compartment and discovered that it contained only three parachutes, meaning that they were one short. Then he quickly announced, “One of them needs to be mine, so I can tell the investigators what happened and prevent future problems with this model aircraft.” Having said that, he took a parachute, opened the door and jumped.

The computer whiz said, “I should also have one of the parachutes, since I’m probably the smartest man alive, and the world needs my brilliance.” So he quickly grabbed one, opened the door and jumped out.

The minister turned to the Boy Scout, and with some sadness in his voice said, “Son, I’ve lived a rich life, but you’re still young and have your whole future ahead of you. You take the last parachute. I’ll go down with the plane. I’m ready to meet my Maker.”

But the Boy Scout answered, “It’s okay, Reverend. The genius just took my backpack.”

Beware the sin of pride. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Seven Deadly Sins, even if you can’t name them; almost no one can. But they include pride, envy, sloth, gluttony, lust, anger and greed. That’s in no particular order, although the sin of pride has long been considered the deadliest of them all, and rightfully comes first. It is called “The Great Sin,” from which all others arise, going all the way back to Eden. Pride places Self above all else, even God, and in doing so, it wreaks utter havoc. Our fallen world is vivid proof of that.

Over the next several weeks we’ll visit each of the seven classic sins, while also highlighting their opposite Christian virtue. In the case of pride, the corresponding virtue is humility. As St. Augustine, one of the Church Fathers, has written, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”

So, what does the Bible say about pride and humility? Probably the single most important verse expresses it very well: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). (Repeat.) God scorns the sin of human pride, but honors the virtue of humility. That truth is foundational to living the Christian life.

Our sinful human nature always wants to see ourselves as better than other people, whether by virtue of our intelligence, wealth, privilege, or any other conceit we might harbor. But pride has nothing to do with the Christian imperative to love. Like a Black Hole in space, our self-centeredness pulls everything around us into itself, robbing us of the light of God’s love, joy and peace--and our ability to share it.

The virtue of humility, on the other hand, enables us to love God and others freely. It allows us to escape the stubborn gravitational pull of our selfishness. Our lives have been given to us so that we can know the joy of giving them away. That's God’s will in our salvation, and it’s where his blessing is found.

General Dwight Eisenhower greeted a group of paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division as they were waiting to board their plane to begin the invasion of D-Day. The picture of confidence and easy charm, he smiled that 1000-watt smile, shook their hands and patted their backs, asking where they were from, and what kind of work they’d done. They came from all over the country and represented every kind of background.

“Anybody from Kansas?” (his home state).

“Yes, sir.”

“Go get ‘em, Kansas.”

“Don’t worry, General. We’ll take care of this thing for you.”

As they began boarding their plane, Eisenhower turned away and walked back to his jeep, wiping away tears. “It’s very hard,” he told his aides, “to look a soldier in the eye when you fear that you’re sending him to his death.”

It wasn’t only because of his reputation for hard work and his military expertise that Eisenhower had been chosen for the position of Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. In fact, many of the senior Allied commanders under his authority considered themselves to be his superiors in both experience and ability. And maybe they were.

But none of them were as humble or as selfless and Eisenhower. And as a veteran of WWI, where the Allies had been greatly hindered by a lack of unity among the officers, Ike and those who appointed him understood the critical importance of conducting better coalition warfare this time around. He was chosen on the basis of his character as much as for any other reason.