Humility
Phillipians 2: 3-15
Humility Is:
the quiet realization that God can get along without me but I
can't get along without Him.
not calling attention to my faults; it is not calling attention to myself at all.
never anxious for recognition.
the inner joy at the success of another even when that success came at my expense.
leaving the "I" or "me" out of the conversation.
willingly discarding all my rights in grateful exchange for whatever privileges God might choose to give me.
allowing others to judge me incorrectly leaving the results in the hands of a just and sovereign God.
my availability to work in the backstage of life, knowing the audience will never know I was there.
the quiet satisfaction that God has called me to be a man/woman of prayer, who may never be known for his/her spiritual accomplishments.
sharing the peace from your heart when you'd rather be sharing a piece of your mind.
a prayer list noted by the absence of personal interests.
the voice never heard above the crowd.
doesn't share "what God has done for me" if in doing so it would call attention to me.
joy in a prison cell even if it means the salvation of a guard (Acts 15:25).
fasting, giving, praying without anyone knowing but the Lord.
keeping quiet about my quiet time.
giving when it is not tax deductible.
smiling and saying nothing when there is nothing to say.
a way of living that comes from dying.
sharing the symptoms of my illness with no one but my doctor.
being a friend to someone who has nothing to offer in return.
quiet thankfulness that God has made me and placed me where I am.
worshiping God when God has just said no.
never graduating from the school of a learner.
never saying "I told you so".
God in a manger.
Jesus in a manger and a cross.Humility is the life of Jesus giving himself away with no regard for recognition; His only reward was the joy of having pleased the Father. He had no rights to claim, no recognition to demand, no results to be guaranteed. It has only one purpose....to reveal the incredible life of Jesus in a world that is striving to prove itself by declaring itself to be important.
Humility is painfully out of style; terribly unnatural and delightfully supernatural. It spends its time crucifying self then never misses it when it is gone. It is seeking to get outside ourselves and so cloth myself with Jesus that no one recognizes me, only Jesus.
So what's the problem? The problem is those who ought to be the most humble are too often the most arrogant; demanding our rights or riding into the limelight, Bible in hand, screaming "Here I am, look at me". Although we have good intentions, we, in the name of spirituality, destroy the very person we love and represent. To whatever degree we exalt ourselves is the degree that Jesus is hidden from view. To whatever degree we demand our way, Jesus is forbidden from having His way. To whatever degree we call attention to who we are, Jesus is denied the opportunity to tell others who He is.Humility is a miracle by which I stop being, so God can become. The message of Jesus is not how many verses we know or committees we serve, church services we attend but it is humility. "It is not I but Christ".
