I am humble
May 26th, 2009 by Victor
What do you think? What are the traits of a humble person? How do you know that you’re being humble? We know Jesus wants us to be humble, but how can we know when we truly are there? Do you agree with Mark Driscoll that we are prideful people working on being humble?
It seems we are by nature narcissictic beings, in love with ourselves. But as Christians it is bordering on the impossible to seem humble, especially to non-believers [like Mr. Driscoll himself, a trini], when it comes to presenting the sound doctrine of the Lord Jesus.
Scripture commands us to “rebuke [believers sharply, with all authority] in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear…and be sound in faith” [1Tim 5.20; Titus 1.3; 2.15]. So how do we do this whilst remaining humble??
Its simple
Make sure when you do these things you include Yourself because a good teacher will rebuke himself more than he does others and leave the ego to God
For one thing, make sure the Scriptures are the standard and authority, then it’s not about us but about God’s standards, which we all try to maintain.
Xavier, as a Christian, why would it be difficult to be humble in certain situations? We are forgiven followers of the Messiah, the one who had the most right to rule over others yet he humbled himself and was a servant. Certainly it should not be such a challenge just because we’re “right” and Mark Driscoll is “wrong” should it?
It is when people accuse you of being arrogant and ‘know it all’. But I guess you would only know what I mean if you live it day in and day out Victor.
Xavier,
You’re right. Many Christians face this constantly. Talk about Jesus being the only way to God, as he claimed, and we get called narrow minded and intolerant. Talk about something we’ve seen from the Bible that perhaps the majority of churchgoers haven’t, we get called no-it-all’s. When we are told we are wrong and we try to stand up for the truth, it can easily sound arrogant. They hear it as, “I know the truth and you don’t,” even if we don’t mean it arrogantly.
Xavier,
What exactly do you mean by your last comment? Could you clarify a bit more?
Thanks,
Victor
I find myself almost constantly in debates with ‘Christians’ of various denominations and backgrounds. Always talking about the same traditionalist subjects starting with the Trinity. Not only with strangers but within my own family. All I hear is ‘so your telling me i’m wrong and your right? so does this mean i am going to hell if i don’t believe what you say?’
The last time I was told by one of me University professors [no less] to repent and not be so arrogant because I thought I knew who Jesus Christ was!! And the classic is, ‘so you think you know who God is in His entirety?’
Is that clear enough Victor?
There seem to be plenty out in the world whose job they think it to
be to humble a man.
I found this short video interesting. I was reading from the Pilgrim’s
Progress at this time about the valley of humiliation. The path of life
went right though this valley. It was right after the house where the Pilgrim met with Charity, Piety, Discression and Prudence who
so carefully allowed him in. Once inside they began such heavenly
discussion about the way that he had traveled and what he had met with in the way.
He had been shown also so many wonderful things in that house
such as the armory, even being fitted with much of it’s supply before setting out again on Pilgrimage.
In the valley he met with some troubles as we can expect ourselves. For there is a time to be humbled and a time to
fight for our lives. Yet humility is one of the greatest assets to
a Pilgrim’s armor, a covering that indeed should protect him at all
times. Even in the heat of battle one needs to be clothed with it
it seems to me, for without it we seem to expose ourselves and
therefore we find ourselves in jeaopardy.
Now it wasn’t as if Charity, Piety, Discression, and Prudence had
let Christian go off on his own as he left the house. They decided
to go with him as far as the foot of the hill. As I said their conversation was so heavenly and they enjoyed the company of Christain so, that they would have gone on further still, and so they
did, even to the bottom of the slope.
They went on together going over their previous discussions aiding him down this decent, for as he said, It was just as dangerous going down as it was going up. And as this was the way to the valley of humiliation, he lost his footing a time or two. Therefore they accompanied him.
At the bottom of the hill, they gave him some provision of good fruit, wine and bread.
It wasn’t long into this valley of Humiliation that Christian met with
Apollyon which seemed to be from the bottomless pit. This stout
fiend seemed more than Christian could handle even with all his
armor, though it wasn’t a matter of Christian’s courage, nor wits.
He had plenty of both. But this battle raged on sore for longer than
a man could endure it seemed, and as fate would have it, for it seemed to have been designed that way.
That Apollyon roared and spoke as a dragon, and he gave Christian
quite the beating, causing him to become weaker from the wounds.
Apollyon knocked him so hard the sword fell from the hand of Christian as he was about to become an end of things. But he confessed that though he had fallen, he would rise, and with that,
though more trouble came, in the end the sighing and groaning of
his heart came as the deadly thrust of his two-edged sword entered the fiend causing him to back away as if mortaly wounded.
Christian’s final attack included, “No, in all these things we are more than conquers through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
Apollyon was forced to spead his dragon wings and speed away.
Even though he gained the victory, it doesn’t seem right if I leave
a Christian with his wounds. He got up from the fight, gave his everlasting praise to God mixed with thanksgiving in perfect poetry, and as grace would have it, a hand gave him of the leaves
of the tree of life with which Christian addressed his wounds and he was instantly healed.