THE HONOR IN HUMILITY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.

Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

Proverbs 18:12, 19:3, 22:4    

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

If I were to take a poll asking people to give me the greatest character trait that a person can have, what responses do you think I would receive?

A recent poll of men and women, asked about what character traits they most valued in a mate, rendered these results:

Men and women valued partners who were reliable, warm, fair, intelligent, conscientious, trusting, secure, hard working, generous, emotionally stable, and even tempered.

There’s nothing wrong with any of these traits. All have their respective merits and are valuable but when we consider a person who is a Christian, I believe there is a critical character trait that I feel would never show up on any worldly list. That trait is humility.

Think about how the world sees someone who exhibits this trait. They are seen as weak and modest, unassertive and meek, someone who is a pushover and unworthy of being followed. The person who displays humility lives with a view that they are not the main priority but rather others and they are willing to take that sense of caring for others above themselves to the point of dying for someone if the need arose. A person who displays humility easily submits themselves to the authority of one greater than him or herself.  A person who displays humility refrains from holding a grudge and instead seeks to forgive and reconcile with others.

In other words, to display humility in life is to live as Jesus did, to model His lifestyle, His mindset, and His actions. Living as Jesus lived is the only way to ensure we live our lives in humility.

Our proverbs for today illuminate the matter of humility and underscore the aforementioned truths. Look at these verses:

Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. Proverbs 18:12

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord. Proverbs 19:3

Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. Proverbs 22:4

Note the following:

1. Pride, considered folly, results in downfall and ruin.

One who refuses to humble themselves typically feels they are too proud to do so. They scoff at any suggestion to submit themselves to anybody. They are essentially gods unto themselves, highly proficient in self worship and that attitude only leads a person to one result: downfall and ruin. We know that because God’s word says so.

2. A foolish person who chooses to shun humility, and in doing so the Lord, exposes a heart that rages and rebels against the very One who made them.

Anyone truly in the Lord will have a humble heart, a heart that loves and respects the way and will of its Maker. Those who choose to follow their own will and way only show a blatant contempt and disregard for the One who rules and reigns over them, the One who will bring us into submission if we choose to not submit on our own.

3. Humility is a fear of the Lord.

The One who respects the Lord and seeks to show Him the highest degree of esteem will live in humility. They don’t consider living any other way for they long to live in a way that is pleasing in the Lord’s sight and living in humility is just that.

4. Humility produces valuable wages.   

The world would say the humble man was weak and without worth. God’s word says that the humble person is indeed rich, wealthy in riches and life and honor, the latter leading to our fifth and final point:

5. Humility results in honor.

When Jesus Christ humbly submitted Himself to be crucified for the sins of all mankind, dying substitutionally for them, God the Father raised His Son to sit at the right hand of His throne, placing Him at a position of honor and assigning Him rule and authority over all mankind. In other word, Christ’s humility led to God’s honor.

The same applies to the humble believer who places their hope, trust and faith in Jesus, willing to die to self so Christ might live within them and guide them to humility and a place of honor with the same Father who honored Him, God, the Father of us all.

Friends, God’s word is clear for us today. There is honor in humility, if for no other reason than because we are living our lives in the Spirit of the One, Jesus, who was the only perfect exemplification of humility, the One who was humbly obedient all the way to the cross before being raised up in victory and triumph over death and the grave.

The good news is that He’s coming back and when He does, He’s coming to take those who placed their belief in Him (in other words, those who humbled themselves to allow Him to be the Way and the Truth and the Life for them) along to a new creation where we’ll abide with Him and God the Father forever.

What an honor that is going to be and it will be our humility in submitting ourselves to Jesus for salvation that will get us to that place. I hope you’ll be joining me there.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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