How may of you dream or have ever dreamed of becoming famous? I mean REALLY famous? Can't go anywhere without being recognized famous? Remembered and adored long after you're dead famous? Ah ... glad to see that I'm not the only one.
When I was in my twenties and thirties, I considered myself a rare jewel, a hidden literary talent just waiting to be discovered. I was going to the be next Faulkner or Hemingway or Melville. As time went on, however, it became more and more evident to me that I wasn't the great, undiscovered talent that I fancied myself to be ... no book on the best seller list. Of course, you actually have to write a book to get on the best seller list ... Duh!
I had a few articles and editorials published in local newspapers. I almost sold an editorial to Harper's Magazine once. They were actually considering publishing it and then, for whatever reason, changed their minds. That's it, folks. That's my literary climb to fame and fortune in a nutshell.
Do I have regrets?
None whatsoever! My life turned out a million times better than I could have ever imagined. Even though I am not famous, I have the best Boss ever and I take care of some of some of the best people in the world. Well ... some of the best people in West Palm Beach county, anyways.
You see, God has humbled me ... and continues to humble me ... in so many ways. Sometimes He humbles me real gentle. And other times ... well ... He has to get a bit rough to get my attention.
You see, my desire for fame and fortune comes from my desire to achieve some form of immortality ... only I didn't know it at the time. If only I could get published ... some articles ... some short stories ... some essays ... gasp! ... a book or two ... then people would know that I was here ... that I had existed at some point in time on this planet.
I remember standing on the second floor of the main library at the University of Florida. I was doing a research paper for one of my graduate courses, so I was in one of the pretty obscure parts of the library. As I went down the rows and shelves looking for a particular book, a thought occurred to me. If I had managed to get published, a book or books, they would have ended up here. Looking at all the names and titles on the book bindings, they reminded me of tombstones. "Here lies Smith, Rodger ... author of "The Development of Turquois Trade Among the Navajo From 1850 to 1900." Name after name after name of authors I never heard of. Row after row of books that might get read a half a dozen times over the next 50 or 100 years. I realized that I was standing in a paper cemetery of long-forgotten authors who, like me, wanted to leave some kind of imprint on the world ... leave some kind of proof that they once existed.
It's not my purpose to demean their work. I'm sure that many of them did what they did to add to the knowledge or the joy and pleasure of the world. But I realized that as a route to eternal fame and recognition ... like Chaucer and Shakespeare ... well .... My struggles to become a rock star in the literary world would have ended up ... if I were lucky enough to even get a book published ... on some library stack or bookshelf somewhere, read by a few thousand people perhaps ... if, as I said, I were lucky.
It's been estimated that between 69 and 110 billion people have lived on this planet since it began. Of that, less than .00004% of them have achieved the kind of immortality that I was seeking. The rest of us ... well, to quote the immortal bard, William Shakespeare: "Life's but a walking shadow. A poor player that struts and frets his hour on the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" ... echoing the words of another great writer and immortal personality, King Solomon. "The people of long ago are not remembered," he writes in Ecclesiastes, "nor will there be any remembrance of people yet to come by those who come after them" (Ecc. 1:11). The people of long ago are not remembered ... and those who are to come will not be remembered by those who will come after them. Sounds, well, depressing and disheartening, doesn't it? But only if your goal is to be remembered forever.
God used my desire to be a great writer to humble me even more. You see, I'm ashamed to admit this, but I thought that I could do a better job of creating the universe than God did ... and God took me up on the challenge. I started to write a book about a character ... me ... who dies and meets God. You can hear the ego and arrogance already, amen? As we stroll through the universe ... you know, the universe HE created ... God patiently listens to me as I point out all the things that He did wrong when He created it. All of a sudden I realize that God and I are standing on an empty, flat, featureless planet. As I look around confused, God explains: "This planet is yours." "What?" I mumble. "This planet is yours ... I give you the power to create, to make this planet into anything you want. Show me how it's done ... how you would do it ... and if you can prove to me that you can do a better job than I did with earth, then I'll turn the whole universe over to you. I have only one requirement ... you start from scratch ... all original ... I'm giving you the same advantages that I had when I started ... you can't build on what I've done ... you can't copy what I've done." And then "poof!" He was gone. And that's as far as I got writing that book. I couldn't even figure out where to start ... how to begin ... just in my imagination where anything is possible, let alone trying to create a planet from scratch for real! And, in fact, I realized that I had already cheated in the book because I had God give me a planet to work with instead of having to create one of my own out of nothing as He had done billions upon billions of times before ... and was still doing at an incredible rate. It was a humbling experience to say the least and I had to abandon the idea all together.
But God didn't. He had another lesson in store for me. As you all know, I love to ride my bike ... a lot. I was riding my bike on the "Trails for Rails" outside of Gainesville, FL, one day ... a beautiful ride off the main road ... when I came came to a little clearing in the woods. I stopped and took in the quiet and the beauty. As I was sitting there in the grass, I had another one of those humbling conversations with God. Sitting there, I was surrounded by all kinds of plants and vegetation. As I said, it was a small clearing surrounded by trees, filled with plants and grass. There were all kinds of insects buzzing about ... crawling on the ground. And I thought about how this tiny clearing ... barely a micro-dot on the surface of the earth ... was so full of life and so much variety of life. And it just existed ... all by itself .. with no one to tend it or take care of it except God. I have no doubt it is still there, still being tended by God. As I was sitting there basking in the bounty and creativity of God in this one little clearing in the middle of nowhere, God leaned down and asked me a question: "Gordon, how many blades of grass are in this one clearing?" "I don't know, Lord, hundreds ... thousands?" "And how many blades of grass are there in the world? How many trees, how many types of trees are there in the world?" "I couldn't begin to guess, Lord." "And how many blades of grass have you made? How many trees have you designed and created?"
You see, God remember that stupid, arrogant book that I was going to write ... and in that humbling moment, so did I. And I continue to thank Hiim for that moment today as I tell it to you.
Why? Because so many people don't understand the true meaning of humility. They have never experienced the amazing freedom that true humility can give them. Humility is not humilitation. God did not humiliate me in the library that day. He didn't humiliate me when I tried to write that book and re-create the universe in my imagination. He wasn't trying to humiliate me that day in the woods. He wasn't trying to humiliate me ... he was trying to give me a gift ... the gift of humility. And He wants you to have the gift of humity too.
"There once was a man in the Land of Uz whose name was Job" (Job 1:1).
Talk about name recognition! The guy died over 3,000 years ago and I don't think there's a person here this morning that hasn't heard his name. Even non-Christians have heard his name. One of the books of the Bible bears his name. How's that for a testament to his existence? Out of 110 billion people who have existed and walked on the facde of this earth, Job is one of only 34 people in the history of the world to have a book of the Bible named after them. Pretty impressive, if you ask me!
Listen to what God Himself had to say about Job: "The Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth. A blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil'" (Job 1:8).
Wow! Can you imagine God and Satan having a conversation about you? "Of all the people on the earth, Satan, have you considered (insert name here)." To have God say that there is none like you in all the earth ... blameless and upright. Imagine God saying that about you!
And could this be what God was saying about Israel? Israel was God's chosen people. There were times in Israel's history when she was wealthy and prosperous, with many families and many children. Job had 10 children ... 7 sons and 3 daughters ... all religiously significant numbers in the Bible. He had 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels ... which came to 10,000 animals all together ... again, 10, 7, 3 ... signifying wholeness and completeness.
The idea was that Job was a deeply religious and pious man, upright and blameless, who turned away from evil. But what we might miss here is the subtle clue to Job's reaction when his world fell apart. It's possible that Job, like Israel, believed that his good fortune was due to his piety and religiosity. He felt that his religiosity could even cover and protect his family. "And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify his children; and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, 'It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts'" (Job 1:5).
He felt that his religiosity ... rising early and offering sacrifices on his children's behalf ... could take way their sins. But even Satan knews that that kind of power can only come form God alone. "Does Job fear God for nothing," Satan asks. "Have you put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have in creased in the land. But stretch out your hand now and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face" (Job 1:9-11).
Was that not the case with Israel? Israel was God's chosen people. I see can God asking Satan: "Have you considered my servant Israel? There are no people like them on the earth. A blameless and upright people who fear God and who turn away from evil." And I can hear Satan ask: "Does Israel fear God for nothing?"
God accepts Satan's challenge. "Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him" (Job 1:12). Put yourself in Job's place. In one fell swoop, he loses everything ... his sons and daughters ... his servants ... his livestock ... everything.
What does Job do? He tears his robe ... he shaves his head ... and he falls to the ground ... and WORSHIPS GOD! "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." Wow! He worships God. "Blessed be the name of the Lord." "In all this," says God's Word, "Job did not sin or charge God with wrong doing" (Job 1:20-21).
How many times had Israel been attacked? How many times had they be upright and blameless only to have their neighbors come and raid their farms and villages? How many times had it seemed that God's hand was around them only to have a mighty army come and kill their sons and daughters or take them away as prisoners and slaves? How often had Israel been afflicted with pestilence and disease? How may times had Israel torn their clothes and wept in the ashes of their homes and cities? How may of them ... how many of you ... have raised your fist toward Heaven and demanded to know why? Demanded an explanation from God?
Clearly I don't have time this morning to go into Job in any great detail, but suffice it to say that over and over and over again Job demands that God explain Himself. And guess what? God shows up in a tornado and humbles Job: Who are you to make such demands on God? Who are you to question me? To question what I do? To question my motives, my purposes? Were you there then I laid out the foundations of the earth (Job 38:4)? Where were you when I made the seas and filled them with all kinds of amazing creatures? Where were you when I created the heavens and the stars? When I created the earth and all the magnificient animals and creatures that crawl, walk, and fly? Where were you when I made the very ground you're standing on right now? Where were you when I created all the life-giving plants that grow out of the soil that I made?" God goes on like this for 129 verses.
I once saw Job as humiliated. How dare he challenge the Great and Powerful Oz, so to speak? But I see now that God gave Job a tremendous gift ... the gift of humility. When it was all over, Job knew beyond a shadow of a doubt tht God is God and he, Job, is not.
As I said earlier, Israel could relate to Job's lament. They religiously observed the law. They religiously sacrificed. They religiously prayed. And yet .... terrible things kept happening and they began to wonder and to make demands that God explain Himself.
The Book of Micah was written during a tense, difficult time in Israel's history ... yet another covenant had been broken. Only this time it was not Job who was on trial but the nation of Israel. And God spoke to them, not from a tornado but through His prophet Micah.
You see, when times were good, well ... the people grew complicant, apathetic ... going through the motions was good enough ... until the Assyrians began to turn their attention towards Israel on their way to Egypt. Now they call out to God: "With what shall I come before the Lord; and bow myself before God on High? Shall I come before Himwith burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (Micah 6:6-7).
I would almost think that the people were being sarcastic with all the hyperbole, especially the comment about sacrificing their first born, if it weren't for the fact that they were justifibly terrified that the Assyrians were coming and it wouldn't be the first time nor the last that they would sacrifice their children to pagan gods.
"What does the Lord require?" responds Micah. "He has told you, O Mortal, what is good ... do justice ... love kindness .. and walk humbly with God" Micah 6:8).
I love it. Do justice. Love kindness. Do these things and walk humbly with God. Not walk humbly before God ... no humbly approach God ... but walk humbly WITH God.
Remember what Satan said to God about Job? "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to your face" (Job 1:9-11). It's pretty similar to what happening in Micah. The Assyrians were coming like a swarm of locust ... harsh ... brutal. And it appears that God has stretched out His hand. The people blamed God for their own misguided actions. They did not walk humbly with God. They walked proudly in disobedience, so that when they came to the Temple to offer their acts of worship, God rejected their offerings.
Micah points out to the people that any good found in them doesn't come from their sacrifices or their religiosity ... it comes from God. More than sacrifices and burnt offerings, the Lord requires a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).
The proof, the evidence of those who claim the Lord as their God is a godly lifestyle ... one that does justice ... one that loves kindness ... one that walks humbly with God. To walk humbly with the Lord is to live by faith and the gift of humility is to give God first place in your life instead of trying to run your own life and do it all yourself.
Humility is not thinking of myself as some lowly worm. Humility is not groveling in the dirt. Humility is knowing exactly who I am and, more importantly, know who I am in relation to God. God has made 110 billion people ... each and every one of them unique ... not a single repeat. And He makes roughly 353,000 new people every day ... and each and every one of them is a unique, one-of-a-kind creation.
You see, I wanted to leave a mark on this world when I died. I wanted people to know that I was here. Well, you know what? Today it's enough that I know that I was here. And it's enough to know that God knows that I was here! He not only knows I am here, He put me here. He created me, formed my inward parts, wove me in the depths of the earth, beheld my unformed substance and then took that substance and formed every hair on my head, every sell in my body.
He gave me two eyes so I could see this beautiful world that He created. I have been blessed to have seen as much of the world as I have seen, and I hope to see more of it. He gave me two ears so that I can hear the song of birds, the rush of waves on the beach, thunder rolling across the sky ... ears to hear poetry and music ... to hear a loved one call my name ... and a mouth to answer my loved ones back ... a mouth that has tasted so many of the flavors from around the world ... a mouth that has spoken so many words to God in prayer ... and a heart to hear His answers.
I may be one of the 110 billion peolple who have lived on this incredible blue ball, this cosmic amusement park, this divine garden hurtling thorugh space at 4,476 miles per hour, but I don't need to leave my mark on this world any longer. It's enough ... more than enough ... that I got to live on it .. to be a part of it in some small, tiny, inpreceptable way. And even if no one ever knows I was here, the One who spread out the Heavens, the One who knows the name of each and every star and knows my name too ... and here's the best part ... walks with me and watches over me ... He knows. And if I am humble, care of me ... if I let Him.
You see, when I'm humble I know what I am capable of ... and I know what God is capable of. And a humble person sees the joy in that. It's exhausting doing God's job. It's too much actually. Life comes at us hard and fast. Some of you are facing tremendous problems, huge problems, overwhelming problems ... problems that keep your head spinning. Problems that weigh you down, that keep you awake at night. You try to solve all your problems by yourslef ... the ones you have now and the ones you think you see on the horizon ... and it's just too much for you. Well, guess what? IT IS TOO MUCH ... for YOU!
But I can tell you who it isn't too much for ... anyone care to guess? That's right ... God.
Then let me ask you this then. If you know that ... if you know that it's too much for you ... and you know that it's not too much for God ... Hum ... I gotta ask! Why in the world are you trying to carry all those problems on your ity-bity shoulders, huh?
Are you weary from carrying the world ... your world ... on your shoulders? Jesus says you don't have to. "Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens," He calls, "and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). How? By taking your burden upon Himself ... a burden you were never meant to shoulder on your own. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart."
Did you hear that? Jesus said that He ... that God ... is "humble of heart." Does that mean that God is a lowly worm? That God grovels in the dirt? NO! It means He knows who He is, what He's capable of ... that He doesn't have to prove anything to Himself or to anyone else. And a humble heart is a gentle heart ... a peaceful heart.
Jesus paints an incredible picture. Remember what God told Israel He required? To do justice, to love kindness, and to what? Walk humbly with the Lord. When you are yoked to Jesus, guess what? You are walking with Jesus, Amen? And ... AND ... He is walking with you. It might seem humiliating to have to put on the yoke, but once we humble ourselves and put the yoke on, we discover the truth of Jesus' words: "For I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29). You will find rest for your soul ... "for my yokie is easy and my burden light" (Matthew 11:30).
The world's yoke is difficult, amen? And the world's burden is heavy. But when you walk beside God and God walks beside you, your burden is lighter and easier to carry ... not because you have smaller burdens or less problems but because you have humbled yourself, recognized your limitations, asked God for help, and have allowed yourself to be yoked with Him so that He carries the greater load.
That, my brothers and sisters, is the gift of humility. A proud person doesn't ask for help ... a humble person does. And I'm sure God shakes his head in pity when He sees someone struggling under a heavy load when they don't have to ... all they have to do is ask. "Well," you might be thinking, "why do we have to ask? If He can see that it's too much for us and we're being crushed by our load, wore down to a nub worrying abou it, why doesn't God just take it from us?"
Have you ever tried to help someone who doesn't want help? The first clue that you have that they don't want your help is that they don't ask for it, amen? Even if you're standing right there ready to help. And if you do offer to help, how do they respond? "Back off, Jack! I can handle it." And you back off. "All right ... just trying to help is all." And so you watch as they gnash their teeth and struggle and cry out: "Why, God? Why are You doing this to me?" All because they're too proud to humble themselves and ask for help, amen?
"Don't worry," says Jesus. God ... who made the universe ... God, who laid the foundations of the earth ... God, who filled the sea with life ... God, who covered the earth with all kinds of amazing creatures ... God, who made you ... He is watching over you, right now, right this very second ... and He will provide for your every need ... what you will drink ... what you will eat ... what you will wear ... just as He takes care of the birds of the air ... just as He takes care of the rest of His creation. And your Heavenly Father will take as careful care of you as He does all of His creatures.
Therefore, do not worry. Do not carry the burden of what you will drink, what you will eat, what you will wear all by yourself. God is right beside you. Follow His lead. Let Him carry the brunt of the burden. Let Him worry about tomorrow because He knows what tomorrow brings. And He knows ... and I hope you know ... that He can handle whatevery tomorrow brings, amen?
There is no shame in admitting our limitations and our weakness because a humble heart knows what it is and is not capable of. And it isn't too proud to ask for help and to accept that help when it is offered.
Remember what Job did when Satan first attacked him? He tore his robe ... he shaved his heard ... and then he fell to the groud ... and worshiped God! What do you think the point of worship is? It is to praise God ... to put God in His right place ... as King over our lives. And in so doing, we remember that we are NOT the king of our own lives. When I am king of my world, I become responsibilie for everything that happens in my world ahd I am quickly overwhelmed ... drowning in my own problems.
If you're tired, if you're worred all the time, could be you're trying to pull the cart all yourself. Humility admits that I can't do it by myself ... that God is way bigger ... way more powerful ... way more capable of pulling the cart than I am. In fact, what's breaking your back is no sweat for God.
Praising Him for HIs strength and power reminds me that I am basically along for the ride ... that I am to gently and meekly and "humbly" just follow along where He leads me ... letting Him do the lion or bull's share of the work, amen?
In our pride, our arrogance, our stubborness, we convince ourselves that we are the only ones who can carry our load, solve all our problems, and we curse God for over-estimating our abilities by putting too much on our plates for us to handle. If our God parted the Red sea and drowned Pharaoh's army, surely He can help us keep a roof over our heads. If our God can rain down food from Heaven, then surely He can help us to keep food in the fridge. If He could walk on water, He can surely help us replace our hot water heater. If our God created our children, surely He will help us take care of them.
I may be like the grass, here today and gone tomorrow ... maybe my hour on the stage will seem way too short ... but I was here by the love and grace of My God, my Creator. And while I was here, He was with me every moment, every second, every step of the way. I may still write a book someday, but not to tell the world I was here but to tell the world about the God who put me here and was with me while I was here ... and how, because of His Son, Jesus Christ, I will be with Him forever.
Is it enough that you were here? A humble heart truly says .... YES!
Let us pray:
O Lord, direct our thinking so that be divorced from self-pity and from dishonest and self-seeking motives.
Let us make every decision and begin every action in You and continue it only through Your inspiration.
Throughout the day show us the next step to take and to trust in Your care of us and our probglems.
Free us from all self-will and self-sufficiency and help us to neither seek nor pray for selfish ends. In Jesus' name we pray ... and all God's humble children say ... amen!
