Humility
The famous Kenosis passage (Philippians 2:1-11) calls us to humility. Paul, before he extols the virtue of Christ’s emptying of Himself, says to believers, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (vs 3-4)
Am I so interested in my own welfare (or spirituality or success or even my humility) that I act, live, as if my interests supersede everybody else’s? I may be vertically super-humble, but am I humble horizontally? I like what Lewis said, in Mere Christianity:
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
What would our homes, our church, or our nation look like if everyone regarded his brothers and sisters as more important than he is?
Trying to keep it real,
Pastor Scott
Grace Notes 