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)
Caroline could show mercy, because God had been merciful to her. She knew her own need, so she could reach out to others in need. Humility demonstrates itself in mercy, which makes life fulfilling.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
Do you want to be truly happy? Then 1st of all, demonstrate humility in mercy. And 2nd…
DEMONSTRATE HUMILITY IN PURITY.
Be clean on the inside as well as the outside. Be genuine through and through without any duplicity.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (ESV)
“Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). So if you want to see God, if you want an audience with Him, don’t try to put on a good impression; be genuine at the core of your being.
Dr. Tim Irwin, who has been a business consultant for 20 years, says, “In working with thousands of leaders over many years, I have observed that they rarely fail because of lack of competence.” They fail because they do not have “a strong core.”
The word “core” has become a major idea in the physical development of athletes and others interested in fitness. Core includes all of the muscles of the midsection. The core muscles stabilize the entire body and are prime contributors to strength and coordinated movement. Athletes in just about every sport focus on developing their core muscles because it has proven to make them so much better at whatever sport they play.
Irwin says, “When our core is intact and congruent, others experience us as authentic, humble, and trustworthy. When our core is compromised or conflicted, others experience us as arrogant, self-serving, and insecure. No matter how artful their style or competent their actions, every failed leader I have studied had a malfunctioning core—it had been broken in some significant way.” (Tim Irwin, Impact: Great Leadership Changes Everything, Tyndale, 2014, page 13; www.PreachingToday.com)
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep [or guard] your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Guard the core of your being, because everything else flows from that.
Annie Dookhan, a crime lab technician in Boston was nicknamed the “superwoman” by her coworkers. Officials said that during her nine years in the lab, Dookhan tested more than 60,000 drug samples, which broke down to about 500 samples per month compared to 150 samples per month for a typical chemist. About 11,000 people were put behind bars based in part on her work.
Unfortunately, Dookhan had such a strong desire to put suspects behind bars that she falsified evidence to impress the prosecutors. According to the police report, a supervisor said he “never saw Dookhan in front of a microscope.” Another chemist said, “Dookhan would submit a cocaine sample, and it would come back heroin or vice versa.” She is also alleged to have lied under oath, claiming to have a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts.
In very short order, authorities released 159 drug case defendants and over 1100 convictions were under review. Then she was put on trial for 27 counts of altering drug evidence and obstructing justice. (Elaine Quijano, “Massachusetts lab tech arrested for alleged improper handling of drug tests,” CBS News, 9-28-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
Ms. Dookhan was putting people in prison when she herself was breaking the law! When you point your finger at the sins of others, pretending to be morally superior, you are asking for trouble. Instead, just be real; be genuine; be pure in heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Do you want to be truly happy? Then #1, Demonstrate humility in mercy. #2, Demonstrate humility in purity. And #3…
DEMONSTRATE HUMILITY IN MAKING PEACE.
Take the initiative in pursuing reconciliation. Do what you have to, to resolve the conflict, whether you were the one wronged or the one who did wrong.
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (ESV)
Peacemakers are like God. Peacemakers are like the One who took the initiative to make peace with us. God saw how our sins had turned us against Him, so instead of waiting for us to come back to Him, He came to us. He left heaven, took on the role of a servant, and died on a cross to win us back into a relationship with Himself.
God took the initiative to make peace with us, and God’s true children do the same with others. If someone irritates you, don’t retaliate; don’t escalate the conflict. Instead, extend grace like God did, and work to resolve the conflict.
Philip Yancey was speaking on the topic of grace in Toronto, where he asked the audience about their own experiences conveying grace to others. One woman shocked everyone when she said, “I feel called to minister to telephone marketers. You know, the kind who call at inconvenient hours and deliver their spiel before you can say a word.” That’s not MY calling, for sure. When they call, I hang up. She continued:
“All day long these sales callers hear people curse at them and slam the phone down. I listen attentively to their pitch, then I try to respond kindly, though I almost never buy what they're selling. Instead, I ask about their personal life and whether they have any concerns I can pray for. Often, they ask me to pray with them over the phone, and sometimes they are in tears. They're people, after all, probably underpaid, and they're surprised when someone treats them with common courtesy.” (Philip Yancey, Vanishing Grace, Zondervan, 2014, pp. 75-76; www.PreachingToday.com)
That woman was a real peacemaker, responding to irritation with grace. But that’s exactly what God did for us. Romans 5:8 says that “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He responded to our sin with grace. And when you do the same with those who have sinned against you, you gain a reputation that’s God-like in comparison.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Do you want to be truly happy? Then #1, Demonstrate humility in mercy;.#2, Demonstrate humility in purity; #3, Demonstrate humility in making peace; And #4…
DEMONSTRATE HUMILITY IN ACCEPTING PERSECUTION.
Don’t retaliate; rejoice. Embrace the harassment that will come when you try to live as Jesus calls you to live.
Matthews 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted [literally, favored are those who are run down, pursued, driven out, harassed and oppressed]. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad [literally, plume yourself; wear the insults like a badge of honor] for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
It’s not important what people think. It’s only important what God thinks, and He thinks you’re in good company with the prophets who were also persecuted by the people around them.
Jesus doesn’t want to give you any false impressions. Living life His way will make you truly happy, but it will also bring you trouble. People won’t like it. They will misunderstand and mistreat you. But true happiness is not the absence of trouble. It’s the ability to rejoice in the midst of trouble, and that takes genuine humility.
You see, only humble people accept unjust persecution without fighting back. Only humble people receive insults without the need to return insult for insult. The world says, “Don’t get mad, get even.” Jesus says, “Don’t retaliate. Instead, rejoice when people insult you, persecute you and lie about you, because heaven will reward you even if the whole world is against you.”
Last October (2018), Andrew Brunson, an American pastor, was released from a Turkish prison after serving two years of what could have been a 35-year prison sentence. He was accused of being a spy with links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which was involved in a failed 2016 coup attempt. Brunson denied the charges, with his lawyer calling them “totally unfounded. He said Brunson “was arrested due to his [Christian] faith.”
Brunson, originally from North Carolina, had lived in Turkey for more than two decades, along with his wife and three children. He was a pastor at the small Izmir Resurrection Church and led a congregation of around two dozen.
At a hearing three months before he was released (July 2018), Brunson had an opportunity to proclaim the gospel. In the courtroom he forgave those who had testified falsely against him. Brunson said, “My faith teaches me to forgive, so I forgive those who testified against me.”
Another American pastor who was present at the trial said, “As usual, there was much spurious testimony against Andrew. His testimony was absolutely powerful. He presented the gospel with confidence and defended himself with boldness.”
In a Facebook post, Andrew's wife, Norine, posted that “The Lord was absolutely glorified!!! He explained why he was here; he gave the gospel. He publicly forgave all those who have come against him, forgiving as he has been forgiven.”
She continued: “He said, 'It is a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ. Blessed am I, as I suffer for him. Blessed am I, as I am slandered. Blessed am I, as I am being lied about. Blessed am I, as I am imprisoned. Blessed am I, as I share his suffering.'” (Lindy Lowry, “U.S. Pastor Brunson Publicly Forgives His Persecutors— as Turkey Calls for Fourth Hearing,” Open Doors, 7-18-18; Ciara Nugent, “Who is Andrew Brunson, the Evangelical Pastor Freed in Turkey?” Time, 7-28-18, revised 10-12-18: www.PreachingToday.com)
Thankfully, Pastor Brunson was released; but before He was, he experienced the blessing of persecution. He did not retaliate. Instead, he forgave his persecutors and therein found true joy.
Do 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.
Then demonstrate that humility in mercy. Demonstrate that humility in purity. Demonstrate that humility in making peace. And demonstrate that humility in accepting persecution.
In other words: Be humble and be happy.
Donald Gray Barnhouse put it this way: “Christ sends none away empty but those who are full of themselves.”
Please, don’t let your pride send you away empty today. Instead, humble yourself before the Lord and leave this place full of Him!
