The Art of Being Humble

Many a humble soul will be amazed to find that the seed it sowed in weakness, in the dust of daily life, has blossomed into immortal flowers under the eye of the Lord.  Harriet Beecher Stowe

When the corn is nearly ripe it bows the head and stoops lower than when it was green. When the people of God are near ripe for heaven, they grow more humble and self-denying... Paul had one foot in heaven when he called himself the chiefest of sinners and least of saints.  John Flavel

We live in a world where being humble isn’t the norm.  You don’t see humble people on every street corner.  It is more common to see prideful and arrogant people than a humble person. 

I believe there is an art to being humble and it starts in the heart.  One of the best examples of being humble in the Bible was John the Baptist.  In John 3:25-26, a dispute broke out between John’s disciples and the Jews about purification.  They came to John and told him that Jesus was baptizing and that all were coming to Him. 

I love John’s response to their statement in John 3:27-32.  “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but ‘I have been sent before Him.’  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.”

John readily admitted that he was not the Christ, but that he had been sent by Him. He rejoiced greatly because of the bridegroom’s, (Jesus’) voice.  He followed that by saying that Jesus must increase and he, (John) must decrease. 

How many times do we want to be the king of our universe?  We want to be first, we want to be in the spotlight and we want others to follow us.  One of the biggest things we miss in this term “humble” is “u” and “me”.  We forget that it isn’t about you and it isn’t about me.  It’s about Him; the One who gave His all so that we might be saved.  

      

We need to remember that we can receive “nothing” unless we receive it from heaven.  The art of understanding how to be humble is becoming a lost art.  The next time you get the urge to be first in anything; whether you are in line at the store or on the freeway, think about the One who made Himself last so that we could be saved.  Take a page from John’s book and increase Him and decrease me.

          

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I often do a horrible job of showing others what it means to be humble.  I get on the freeway and don’t want someone to get ahead of me so I cut them off or won’t let them in.  I don’t even understand sometimes why I do that.  Help me to show others what it means to put others first and myself last.    

     

Scripture: John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:27-36