Humility A man s pride will bring him low, But the humble spirit will obtain honor (Prov.29:23) Introduction Did you hear the story about the minister, Boy Scout and computer expert flying as the only passengers on a small plane? The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes for four people. The pilot added, I should have one of the parachutes because I have a wife and three small children. So he took one and jumped. The computer whiz said, I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me. So he took one and jumped. The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a warm smile said, You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute, and I ll go down with the plane. The Boy Scout said, Relax, reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out! Now I like that story, not because it makes the minister look good, but because it illustrates so well the scripture before us, which is fleshing out the relationship between pride and humility. Like the brilliance of the stars seen only in contrast to the darkness of the night, so the beauty of humility is seen in contrast to the darkness of pride. We see humility and pride in relief as we see the story in terms of motivation, action and result: The computer expert, in pride is motivated by self-importance: I deserve this! The minister, in humility, is motivated by gratitude: I have lived a rich life. The pride of the computer expert compels him to action: he steals from others to take for himself. The humility of the minister leads him to action: deferring to another for their welfare. The result of pride is the desired opposite: instead of preserving it brings him to destruction. The result of humility is the honor, not sought, of deliverance from danger. Just as the story works for its irony- the smartest man in the world can t tell the difference between a knapsack and a parachute- so pride and humility are understood in terms of irony. Let s explore four points of irony.
1. Humility, the virtue which proves us most genuine, can easily be counterfeited a. You can be humbled without being humble If you make a mistake and blame others, you haven t been humbled. Affliction may bring you low in countenance or posture but your heart may remain proud- I don t deserve this! But do you really know what you deserve? Humble people do. b. you can evidence humble behavior outwardly without inwardly being humble Absalom s conduct at the gates of Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 15:5 You may be using false humility to gain power over others. c. you can behave religiously and still be proud Jesus saw many religious people in his day who prayed and gave great gifts to the church, but condemned them as proud and wanting to be noticed by people. d. you can think less of yourself and still not be humble Sometimes when people think less of themselves it is due to prideful desire to be better than they are. Pride is self-absorption, self as greatest concern, and you may compare yourself to others and feel like a worm because you aren t as talented as they are (selfpity) Humility isn t thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. Does God say you are worthless? No, you re a creature made in His image with, despite your sin, incalculable worth. Our sin makes us wicked and unworthy, yes, but not worthless. 2. The things which tempt us to pride should make us humble All of us have things which we think make us good or worthy. These things answer the question, Why should others be impressed with me? Wealth Ez.28:5 By your great wisdom, by your trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches. 1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited Beauty Ez.28:17 Your (the Prince of Tyre) heart was lifted up because of your beauty. Prov.31: Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Status (Daniel 5:20) Intellect / Abilities / Success 2 Kings 14:10 You (Amaziah) have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Popularity Beware when all men speak well of you; they loved the approval of man rather than God
Why can t we derive our worth from these? a. You can t derive worth from what s borrowed. All that we have is on loan as a stewardship from God. If I borrow your expensive car, I can t claim that I m somehow more wealthy by driving your car. That s pride: I want to look good regardless of whether I am or not. Simon the magician wanted to look good and Peter said his heart was full of iniquity. Acts 8 b. Each of these can be taken away, they re on a string. (Nebuchadnezzar) c. Each is a gift of God requiring great responsibility to use for God s glory. What counts ultimately is the glory God gets from your life. The famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright said, Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocrital humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change. I wonder if anyone explained to him a third option: honest humility? d. Each gift should evoke bewilderment: Why should someone like me be given so much? That s what humility thinks. My graces make God look good. e. These things make you look good before others but can t make you good before God. What qualifies you for heaven is not talent- however you measure it- but sinless holiness. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath. If you want the applause of men, you have it- but that s all. If you have all knowledge but have not love, you are nothing. 3. Pride never finds the thing it seeks A man s pride brings him low, but the humble spirit will obtain honor. 29:23 What is pride seeking? Honor, recognition, esteem, avoiding being low. There is such a thing among men, and God says it s temporary and fleeting, and that only He gets it right. That which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God. Luke 16:15 By definition honor has to be given, it can t be taken. Like most popular award in High School; you don t award yourself. By its nature popularity is determined by the populous. You are popular only if others say so. The same is true with honor. Let another praise you, and not your own lips. Prov.27:2 You are honored not because you say so, but because others determine it so. God says, I m the only one in the world who can give ultimate honor because I know all things and I understand people s motives. Hence, Humble yourselves under the might hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time. (1 Peter 5:6 ) Your job is to stay under the mighty hand of God and let Him direct and use you as he desires, and God s job is to exalt you at the time of his choosing. Do you see? When you insist on self-glory, you lose it. Where do you find it? In the truth. The foundation of human greatness is truth. Humility is the fruit of accurate selfknowledge. You see yourself as you are. You have to use a measuring standard outside yourself. Our tendency is to cut ourselves slack. The way of a man is right in his own eyes. If you asked the man on the street, he would say, Yes, I am a basically good, decent
person. But when you get God s standard of moral perfection as delineated in His law, you fall short. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Therefore, humility says, I m to blame. I m not what I was made to be, and it s no one s fault but mine. My sin keeps me from godliness; I seek my glory not God s. Humility says, I don t know about your heart, but it can t be as bad as mine. Pride says, I ll study your infirmities and my excellencies, Humility says, I ll study my infirmities and your excellencies. How in the world do you get to that point? 4. The way to honor is to admit your poverty. When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom. 11:2 The word for pride suggests a boiling up; the proud, like boiling water, in effect say, don t touch me or you ll get hurt. But, when pride comes, then comes dishonor, as an unwelcome guest, the last thing the proud want- dishonor. (Waltke, p.483) The word for humility is also used for a pipe or water conduit, implying that the humble person understands that all good things we merely possess as unworthy vessels. Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, but humility goes before honor. 18:12 The word for humility here means of low eyes, or to stoop oneself down. Pride looks down on others, humility looks up. Who can do this? Our natural hearts can only produce pride. Jesus said, A bad tree can t produce good fruit. More good works, trying harder, cleaning up your act, going to church more, all that is like spraying water on a bad tree, or polishing the fruit. That won t change its nature and may only make it produce more badness because the problem is systemic. You need a new heart. Here s the irony: To work right as a human being, you have to confess you don t work right. The great promise of the Bible is that God does the impossible, he does for us what we can t do for ourselves: he gives a new heart. Dt 29:4 Yet to this day God has not given you a heart to know or eyes to see or ears to hear. Dt.30:6 The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts, and the hearts of your descendants, that you may love him with all your heart and all your soul, and live. Ez.36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 2 Cor.5:17 Behold, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the Old has passed away, the new has come.
How do you recognize a new heart in operation? A new heart is always discoveringironically- old facts: the holiness of God, the sinfulness of sin and the love of Christ. When you stop viewing yourself through the magnifying glass of self-appreciation (in which you invariably appear in your own eyes better than you are), and start viewing yourself through the magnifying glass of Christ s love, you ll want to say with the humble John the Baptist, I must decrease but He must increase. As you grow with a new heart the Spirit will show you the holiness of God, and correspondingly you ll uncover your sin. Repent of your sin and look in faith to Christ, trusting that his cross is all-sufficient for your forgiveness. When you do this you won t be proud of what you are, but humble for what you lack. Considering all the grace that s mine, I should be much better than I am, and accomplished much more for God than I have. You will rest increasingly in the love of Christ for you. You will desire Jesus to get the credit, rather than take it yourself. You will be content to be laid aside if God chooses to use other tools You ll be willing to take reproof for sin, rather than hide behind self-righteousness Reproof to the proud is gasoline on a fire; reproof to the humble is cold water in the desert. You will be able to bear the reproach of your enemies, knowing that you were God s when he saved you. You will stop complaining that you have so little, and start wondering why you have so much. The worst piece God carves is better than I deserve. Do you see the irony? You become rich by admitting your poverty. Pride can be killed, but not by its owner. Only Jesus Christ can subdue your proud heart. He does so by bringing you to His cross. There we see the ultimate irony: A gruesome criminal s death brings forth glorious eternal life. The prince of peace went to war against your sins. The only true holy man to ever live became filthy sin on the cross. Jesus took all his power and used it to become weak. The God who blesses became a curse on a tree he himself had made. Jesus takes your sin and exchanges it for His righteousness. You can give him your pride, and he ll honor you in exchange: Jesus says, sit at My table with Me. The richest, most blessed, most secure, most peaceful and joyful people have nothing to brag about. That s grace. Good news, the light of the gospel burns away the fog of our selfimportance, and then we see how precious we are to God, that His Son would die for us. Irony! the humble heart is God s palace.