47. Humility, Philippians 2:5-7

Transcription

1 47. Humility, Philippians 2:5-7 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Question: How does humility help you succeed? Trajectory Verses: John 3:30; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5-7 Servant leadership is a popular buzzword. It gained traction back in the 1980 s when corporate leaders and university researchers began to rethink the use of power in business, politics, and public life. In summary, they found that the most positive use of power was for the powerless. When leaders use their influence and authority to benefit those who cannot repay them the leader s respect, influence, and effectiveness grew far more than when they used their power for self-protection or self-promotion. A leader s natural instinct is to protect their power to build it. As it turns out, giving away power, honor, and influence is the secret sauce of becoming effective leaders. The whole movement of servant leadership goes back to one man Jesus Christ. None before him taught or modeled anything comparable to his life and legacy. He was the first leader in human history to advocate power moving downward rather than upward. He encouraged loving the least, accepting the outcast, and recovering the lost. He defended the defenseless and included the disenfranchised. This ideology can be captured in the single term humility. What most fail to recognize is that humility (an attribute honored in our culture) was, in Jesus day, an insult. Humility was a weakness, not a virtue. Humble people were seen as weaklings. This is stunning for us since humility is expected, even demanded, from everyone in our culture except boxers and wide receivers. Jesus took the word humility and put it in the W column. The very way we use this word today pays tribute to Jesus effectiveness as a social engineer. Humility in Jesus To say Jesus was humble is to damn him with faint praise. We fail to recognize just how far he descended to administer justice, healing, and salvation. He was more than humble. He was self-sacrificial to an ultimate degree. Paul gives us a glimpse when he used a particularly aggressive Greek word to capture the essence of Jesus full self-abnegation. That word is kenóō, roughly translated to empty or to abase (Philippians 2:7). Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,

2 being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7). This extraordinary sentence is breathtaking. Jesus abandoned his deity to take on humanity. He temporarily laid down omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience so he could come to humanity as one of us so that he could lift us from our fallen state. Jesus descended from heaven to earth (a distance too great to measure) so that in his ascension, we could be lifted to our original creational dignity. This whole idea is summarized in the word incarnation. Jesus robed himself in flesh so we could participate in his divine nature. Though this is the great mystery of Christianity, it is also practically necessary. Jesus example of humility is precisely what makes good parents, coaches, CEOs, team captains, and military commanders. This is a father on the floor wrestling with his boys. It s the CEO picking up trash. It s the general leading troops into battle. It s the coach running drills alongside her players. None of this has to happen. Leaders can t be forced into it. Nonetheless, when it happens, followers are inflamed with loyalty and respect for one who walks in their shoes. Leadership theory is finally catching up to Christian theology the best leaders are servants of those they lead. Humility in the Bible Throughout the Bible God commands his people to be humble. The principle is simple and often repeated: God exalts the humble and humbles the haughty. This divine reversal is common in Christianity, and it is peppered throughout the Bible. God turns the totem pole of human values on its head. Those on top are pushed to the bottom and those on the underbelly are exalted to the highest place. Here are three of the most famous passages. (1) Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (2) 2 Chronicles 7:14, If 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 and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (3) Job 22:29 For when they are humbled you say, It is because of pride ; but he saves the lowly. These ideas are repeated elsewhere (see 1 Samuel 2:7-10; Job 40:11, 12; Psalms 18:27; 147:6; Proverbs 18:12; 29:23; Isaiah 2:11-17; 53:10-12; 57:15; Ezekiel 17:24; 21:26). Jesus pulls this theme into his own preaching, Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12; see also Luke 14:11; 18:14). Both Peter and James have their own rendition of the theme. James 4:10, Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 1 Peter 5:5-6, Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. The verse continues with a compelling offer of interest to all of us: casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for

3 you (v. 7). Humility releases us from anxiety. There is much more to say on this subject but we ll reserve that for the lesson on worry (Philippians 4:8). As if this wasn t enough, Jesus also had a whole series of sayings about the first will be last and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30; 20:8, 16, 27; Mark 9:35; 10:31; Luke 13:30). The two most prominent first/last sayings were in private discussions with the Twelve after Jesus caught them clamoring for positions of power. This should, of course, sound familiar to most of us who seek advancement in our careers, recognition from our peers, and affection from our followers. The first instance for the disciples was after James and John asked for chief seats in the Kingdom. Jesus offered this exhortation to them (and to us) Mark 10:44-45, Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Likewise, in the upper room, after having their feet washed, Jesus again had to settle their dispute about leadership prestige. Luke 22:25 26, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. Jesus was not the only voice in the mix. A generation before Jesus, the famous Rabbi Hillel said, My abasement is my exaltation, and my exaltation is my abasement Likewise, a century after Jesus, Rabbi Yose said: Whoever exalts himself above the words of Torah is in the end degraded; and whoever degrades himself for the sake of the words of the Torah is in the end exalted. Jesus was hardly a solitary voice advocating humility. He was, however, a singular figure modeling humility. No one washed his disciples feet, touched lepers and bleeding women, honored children, included the poor and outsiders, or gave prostitutes an audience. Hence, humility is not just a philosophical ideal or even a biblical mandate from God. Humility is an actionable practice modeled by the life of Jesus. His ministry (and death) exemplified his expectations of how we should posture ourselves for influence and leadership. God expects us to imitate his Son who is gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29). Even pinned to a bloodied cross his first statement reverberated humility, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Humility in Action When we think of humility what most often comes to mind is an emotional posture or self-assessment. It s a kind of aw-shucks attitude that I m really no better than anyone else. Humility, in our vernacular, is an attitude about yourself. That s well and good. After all, arrogance is never attractive. Yet biblical humility is not so much about how you feel about yourself; it has much more to do with how you treat others. So to that end, we want to identify some actionable items to implement and thereby measurably increase our enacted humility. After all, nothing reflects the life of Jesus more than using power for the powerless. So here are

4 four suggestions. You cannot likely implement them all (at least not immediately). Rather, choose one to practice this week in a designated thirty-minute block. 1. Associate with the lowly as if they were dignitaries. Romans 12:16 says, Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Likewise, James 2:1-5 warns us not to give preferential treatment to those with wealth for Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? (v. 5). God is not partial. The Greek word here is literally face-taker. God doesn t look at someone s face before he determines their treatment. Neither should we. Nor should we look at their wallet, popularity, or prestige. 2. Prioritize children. One frenetic day Jesus disciples blocked a group of women who wanted Jesus to bless their babies. The disciples were looking out for Jesus interests trying to keep his agenda clear for the highest priorities. Their motive was good. Their miscalculation was that Jesus always prioritized children and others of low estate. This is the only time Jesus lost his temper with his disciples. He was indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God (Mark 10:14). 3. Purposely put yourself in a humble place. In Jesus context that meant deliberately taking a lower seat at a banquet (Luke 14:10). In our context that might mean parking farther away from the office so others have a shorter walk. It could mean you never walk past trash without picking it up. It might mean (quoting the title of an excellent book) Leaders eat last. It could be letting someone go ahead of you in line, emptying the dishwasher at home, or filling the Keurig at work. Whatever it looks like, it means deliberately giving up the right to privileges. This will actually increase your respect by those who notice. Not everyone will notice. However, everyone will hear of it. Those who see will spread positive gossip that PR could never purchase. 4. Serve someone who cannot repay you. Jesus modeled this by washing his disciples feet (John 13:1-20). One of the greatest surgeons in our city flips burgers at our church. A woman who worked in President Bush s cabinet holds two-year-olds every Sunday morning. This is the heart of Mother Theresa whose life affirmed the dignity of throw-away people. It is imperative that the highest leaders master the humblest service because if service is beneath you then leadership is beyond you. Key Points: The doctrine of the Incarnation is couched in terms of humility. The entire Bible reiterates the principle of humility that God deposes the proud and exalts the humble. There are specific actions we can do to implement humility in our own leadership. Action Step: Choose one of the above action item to implement this week.

5 Further Resource: Robert Greenleaf & Larry Spears, Servant Leadership (1977). Questions for Discussion: 1. How do you know if you re a humble person? 2. What is the real reason most people have trouble enacting humility? What are they afraid of? 3. Give a concrete example of a person you know personally who gained honor by serving humbly. 4. Identify one thing you could do this week to demonstrate humble service that you are not currently doing.