“HUMILITY”
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (Phil 2:3-4). “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6). “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).
Do you remember the song by Mac Davis? A few lines went like this: “Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble, When you’re perfect in every way. I can’t wait To look in the mirror. Cause I get better looking each day.” Preachers joke and say, “I am going to write a book entitled, Humility and 100 other Great Sermons, by Bro. Great Preacher.” We’re in the midst of political season when all the candidates are telling us how tremendous they are and what they will do. Whether you liked him or not, Harry Truman had a perspective on who he was. After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them. In 1971 he refused to accept The Congressional Medal of Honor.
The Apostle Paul was a very humble man, in spite of all of his accomplishments for the work of the Lord. To the elders at Ephesus he said, “Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews” (Acts 20:19). To the Philippians he wrote, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phil. 3:8). Jesus is our example of humility. Paul, by inspiration, wrote this about Christ, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7).
In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Should we not be thinking of how we can help others?
Larry