Winston Churchill was reviling a political opponent at a press conference. A reporter interrupted him asking, “But surely, Mr. Churchill, you must admit that he is a humble, modest man?” To which Churchill replied: “He is a humble man, but then he has much to be humble about!”
Ministers are reluctant to preach on humility. How do we promote humility without sounding like we think we’ve attained it? Needless to say, my sermon title isn’t “Humility and how I found it.” I’m still working on it, and I’m preaching to myself. I don’t know if you need this message but I do. Humility is elusive; when you think you have it, you’ve lost it!
Pride is a spiritual cancer. It was once seen as the deadliest of sins, but nowadays it has become a virtue in our culture of self-expression. We admire the proud. The advertising industry feeds our pride: “You deserve this product.” In sharp contrast, Jesus modeled humility. Before Jesus, no one ever used “humble” as a compliment. People desire power and glory; they’re driven by selfish ambition…yet Jesus wore a different kind of glory--the glory of humility. Jesus shows us that it’s not “God helps those who help themselves”, but those who humble themselves. The proud don’t want any help.
Humility is honestly assessing our strengths and weaknesses in light of God’s holiness and our imperfection. Rick Warren says “Humility is not denying your strengths; it is being honest about your weaknesses.” To be humble is to do an honest self-appraisal, by admitting the truth about ourselves. This means that we avoid both bragging and putting ourselves down. Humility is acknowledging the truth about what we are and what we’re not. Humility requires a bit of self-forgetfulness. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real” (Thomas Merton).
In Matthew 18, Jesus is responding to His followers who were arguing over which of them was the greatest in God’s Kingdom. Jesus had previously stated in chapter 11 that John the Baptist was the greatest. With him gone, who now has the #1 spot? This desire for prominence goes all the way back to Eden, where the serpent promised greatness to Adam and Eve. Why are we so competitive regarding who is the best?
Jesus bypasses His followers and calls a child over to the heated discussion. He turns their thinking around, insisting that they “change and become like little children” in order to have a place in God’s Kingdom. He insists: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” “He didn’t tell the child to become like His disciples; He told the disciples to become like this little child” (Ruth Bell Graham). This fits with John the Baptist, whose motto was that “Jesus must increase and I must decrease…I’m not worthy to tie His sandal.”
In Bible times, children were often regarded as insignificant, pretty much the opposite of modern times. Parents today often go overboard, lavishing gifts and smothering their kids with attention (you’ve likely heard of “helicopter parents”?). In Bible times, children were nearly non-persons. Both are extremes.
So how do we “become like little children”? Being childlike means being humble enough to trust Jesus when we’re tempted to place all our trust in ourselves. Jesus is not suggesting that children are innocent or sinless. Even babies show subtle signs of selfishness, and toddlers who reach the “terrible twos” can make anyone believe in Original Sin. Jesus is urging us to be child-like, not childish.
Children understand that they depend on others. They usually know their limitations. They respond to God’s world with wonder…and then they grow up. Their education and accomplishments can become a barrier to faith. Adults tend to boast that they never rely on anyone; they are self-made. They make an idol out of self-reliance. Unless they humble themselves, they’ll never come to Christ. There is no room for God in people who are full of themselves. Where would we be if Jesus hadn’t saved us from our self-centered and self-destructive ways? Humility is our greatest friend and pride is our greatest enemy.
The serpent did not say to Adam and Eve: “Be bad and disobey God.” He held out a promise: “You’ll be wise, you’ll be like God.” We’re all tempted to pride, which is the essence of sin. “We should begin every day “by acknowledging our dependence upon God, our need of God, and our confidence in God” (C.J. Mahaney).
While assigned to the Army Chaplains School I got in an informal discussion with a group of chaplains on how to get ahead in the military: Having the right assignments, jockeying for position, playing politics--all the tickets that needed to be punched. One of us, Catholic Priest Mike Chilen, was saying nothing, just listening. Finally he spoke: “Wow, I have to say I haven’t thought of any of this. I just want to serve Jesus.” I thought, “Yeah, that’s what I should have said.” Careerism can get in the way of ministry. It is rooted in pride. Mike was humbly focused on servant-leadership.
It's hard to be humble in the Army. Soldiers are awarded with medals, promotions and positions of authority. I remember when I got promoted, for a week I couldn’t pass a mirror without admiring my new rank…then I got over it, and realized it was just a new pay grade that allowed me to keep my job and continue serving.
We should not seek praise, but at times we’ll receive it. When complimented, it is impolite to argue that we “did nothing.” A better way to handle praise is simply to say, “Thank you; praise the Lord.” We acknowledge the kind words, then give credit to God. I like how some baseball players point heaven-ward after they hit a home run. Work for the cause, not the applause. Albert Einstein said, “Don’t strive to be a success; strive instead to be of value.” The road to success is always under construction. Some people get to the top of the ladder of success only to discover they’re on the wrong ladder. If at first you do succeed—try to hide your astonishment! When we fail, a mistake that makes us humble is better than an achievement that makes us arrogant.
In marriage counseling I sometimes ask couples to tell me what they admire about each other. When they can’t, this usually reveals bitterness that is rooted in a lack of humility. We cultivate humility by seeing good in others, by building them up.
C.S. Lewis said that “Christ wants a child’s heart but a grownup’s head.” To be childlike means we put aside pride and rely on God with reverent awe and delight. The first step toward maturity is realizing we can’t become spiritually mature on our own. A friend of mine, a new believer, wanted to be mature, and noticed the mature Christians had beat-up looking Bibles. So he took his new one, and started throwing it against the wall. In ten minutes he was a mature Christian!
Salvation is for those who admit they’re not worthy, who realize that they need what only God can give. Humility is the key to faith. Andrew Murray stated that “It is only by the indwelling of Christ that we become truly humble.” Trust God and He will provide. We need to admit we’re in a mess we can’t fix. Before the face of God “we deserve punishment and get forgiveness; we deserve God's wrath and get God's love” (Phil Yancey). We have much to be modest about. We’re saved by grace--the only way we’re ever going to make it to Heaven. That’s a humbling thought!
Prayer: Lord, where we wrong, make us willing to change; where are right, make us easy to live with. We confess our pride, but we are pursuing humility. Help us to be more serious about self-denial. Help us to see that our words matter; they show whether we’re proud or humble. By putting people down we build ourselves up and grieve Your Spirit. Our confidence is in You, not in self. We rest in Your grace, and pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
