Happy Are The Humble -- Part 2 Series

Orla Shup, of Albion, Pennsylvania, was babysitting her pastor’s 3-year-old daughter, playing their favorite game together, Go Fish. One evening, after winning several rounds, the little girl kept bragging about how good she was. Jokingly, Shup said to her, “I'm going to have to teach you a little humility.”

Immediately the little girl looked up and asked, “How do you play that?” (Orla C. Shup, Albion, PA, Today's Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart”)

Last week, we looked at the Beatitudes and learned that humility and happiness go hand-in-hand. If you want to be truly happy, be humble in your attitude towards yourself; be humble in your attitude towards sin; be humble in your attitude towards others; and be humble in your attitude towards God. In other words, be humble and be happy!

But that begs the question: What does that humility look like? Or as the little girl put it, How do you play humility? How do you practice it in your everyday life? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 5, Matthew 5, where we see how to demonstrate a humble attitude.

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (ESV)

Happy, humble people are merciful. They are sympathetic to the needs of others, and receive mercy in return. So if you want to be truly happy…

DEMONSTRATE HUMILITY IN MERCY.

Show compassion to those who are suffering, and freely forgive those who sin against you.

The word for “mercy” encompasses both ideas of forgiveness for the guilty and compassion for the needy. The world says, “Don’t be burdened with other people’s problems; you have enough of your own. Besides, people deserve what they get. Just take care of yourself, and you’ll be happy.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful. Oh how happy are those who reach out to people in pain, even when they don’t deserve it.”

But only humble people can do that. You see, only when you are aware of your own sin are you willing to reach out in kindness to fellow sinners. And only when you are aware of your own need can you truly sympathize with those in need; you feel their pain (or their pathos) with them.

In Luke 7, Jesus was eating dinner with a local preacher, when the local prostitute showed up and poured perfume on His feet along with her tears. Then because she had nothing else to use, she wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair.

The preacher was indignant. “How can Jesus allow this filthy, evil woman to do that to him,” he thought to himself.

So Jesus told him a story. “Two men owed money to a certain loan officer. One owed him $75,000 and the other about $7,500. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled both their debts.”

Then Jesus asked the preacher a question, “Now which of them will love him more?”

The preacher replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

And Jesus said, “You have judged correctly.” Then he turned toward the woman and said to the preacher, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, [you did nothing to welcome me.] You did not wash my feet [like most people do in desert climates], but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not greet me with a kiss [in typical Middle Eastern fashion], but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not refresh me with oil on my head [as is customary in the Middle East], but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:36-47)

Those who really don’t believe they need a lot of forgiveness have a very little capacity for love. But those who know they have been forgiven much have the capacity to love much. They love their Lord more and they have a greater compassion for those who struggle just like they. The self righteous are merciless and hard. The poor in spirit are merciful, full of forgiveness and compassion.

That’s Caroline Titus’ story. After years of alcohol and prescription pill abuse, she finally stopped running and gave her life to Christ. She now serves in a ministry called New Name, which reaches out to women in “the sex entertainment industry.” In the call center, she has seen a range of responses: a few women are grateful for the call, but the majority respond by hanging up on her or telling her to get lost.

One woman responded to Caroline’s initial text by calling her the “b-word.” She told Caroline that she had sold her soul to the devil a long time ago, and that faith in God is like believing in the tooth fairy. Before responding, Caroline paused and prayed. Then she texted this woman back and shared her own struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. Caroline told her that she could never see herself standing over anyone in judgment. She also shared how Christ had shown her mercy. In subsequent texts the woman started to soften and open up. She even agreed to meet with Caroline and her colleagues at New Name, where they were able to listen to her and show her Christ's love. (Caroline Titus, Wheaton, Illinois; www.PreachingToday.com)