Humility - A Gateway Character Quality
The world disciples us to be the center of attention. Today, the discipleship of narcissism begins as babies. When children wear bibs that say "Chick Magnet" and "Supermodel" as they suck on pacifiers that imitate "bling" and their mommy reads them the new nursery rhyme, "This Little Piggy Went to Parada", something is seriously wrong. If that is not enough, Little Jackie came out with a hit song a few years ago titled, "I Believe the World Should Revolve Around Me."* Here are the words to the chorus:
Humility has been lost in our culture and believers need to lead the way in rediscovering it. I believe humility to be a gateway character trait that leads to maturity and being spirit filled. The quality of humility allows us to be shaped by God in dynamic ways. Humility is often one of the lead qualities when leaders or maturity in faith is discussed in the Scriptures. Notice this sampling of Scriptures concerning Humility:
"It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. (Leviticus 16:31)
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3)
"You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (Deuteronomy 8:2)
"In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. (Deuteronomy 8:16)
13 "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 "Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15)
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. (Ezra 8:21)
O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear. (Psalm 10:17)
He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. (Psalm 25:9)
But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. (Psalm 37:11)
29 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high. 30 I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs. 32 The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive. 33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His who are prisoners. (Psalm 69:29-33)
It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Psalm 16:19)
A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor. (Proverbs 29:23)
"For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Isaiah 66:2)
Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD'S anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Matthew 11:29)
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.(Philippians 2:8)
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit (1 Peter 3:8)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6)
These Scriptures teach us that we cannot get along in our faith without humility! Humility is vital to our spiritual strength and is used by God to develop us into a godly people. Humility teaches us perseverance through the trials of life and gives us an outlook throughout life that keeps us focused on the ways of God which benefits the world!
I've had a lot of failed relationships
I don't get involved because I'm not equipped
I believe that the world should revolve around me!
I don't see the point of partnership
It won't be long until they start to trip
Yes siree, that whole world should revolve around me!
Humility has been lost in our culture and believers need to lead the way in rediscovering it. I believe humility to be a gateway character trait that leads to maturity and being spirit filled. The quality of humility allows us to be shaped by God in dynamic ways. Humility is often one of the lead qualities when leaders or maturity in faith is discussed in the Scriptures. Notice this sampling of Scriptures concerning Humility:
"It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. (Leviticus 16:31)
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3)
"You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (Deuteronomy 8:2)
"In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. (Deuteronomy 8:16)
13 "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 "Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15)
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. (Ezra 8:21)
O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear. (Psalm 10:17)
He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. (Psalm 25:9)
But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. (Psalm 37:11)
29 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high. 30 I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 And it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs. 32 The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive. 33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His who are prisoners. (Psalm 69:29-33)
It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud. (Psalm 16:19)
A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor. (Proverbs 29:23)
"For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Isaiah 66:2)
Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth Who have carried out His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of the LORD'S anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Matthew 11:29)
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.(Philippians 2:8)
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit (1 Peter 3:8)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6)
These Scriptures teach us that we cannot get along in our faith without humility! Humility is vital to our spiritual strength and is used by God to develop us into a godly people. Humility teaches us perseverance through the trials of life and gives us an outlook throughout life that keeps us focused on the ways of God which benefits the world!
Humility is a gateway trait that leads us in the way of Christ! Next time I will discuss what a humble life looks like and how we can move in the direction of humility.
*You can find the complete lyrics to this song HERE (warning it is explicit at points)
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