At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.”
—Matthew 18:1-5
In Matthew 18:1-5, Jesus responds to the disciples’ question about the greatest in the kingdom of heaven by using the example of humbling oneself as a child.
It’s intriguing that Jesus chose a young child to exemplify humility. While it’s true that children possess a purity and humility that adults don’t normally have, they certainly aren’t selfless. Children enter this world entirely self-centered, demanding what they want when they want it. Parents must teach their children to put aside self-centeredness.
Humility is a quality that comes from relying on God rather than ourselves. It has always been a key to success. Jesus’ teachings on humility weren’t new; what made them incredible was how Jesus lived out this virtue in a way no one ever had.
Humility denies self. Self-denial is exactly the opposite of the world’s way of exalting one’s self at everyone else’s expense. Self-denial wouldn’t work if there was no God; success would only come through human effort, and anyone humble would be trampled underfoot. But humility does work. God exalts those who truly humble themselves and surrender to His will in their lives ( 1 Peter 5:6).
Philippians 4:6 in the New King James Version instructs us to let our gentleness be evident to all. Gentleness is a voluntary choice; we actively choose to be humble. However, if we are compelled to be humble, it becomes a form of self-humiliation rather than true humility. Philippians 4:6 emphasizes that gentleness should permeate our lives, making it evident to everyone. When we truly humble ourselves before God and become totally dependent on Him, gentleness becomes a dominant trait in our demeanor and actions.
True humility is a step of faith—a step of faith that God is the judge and promotion and honor come from Him (Psalm 75:6-7). It is a step of faith that God will resist the proud but give grace unto the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Humility is trusting in God and not in ourselves. This is precisely why it’s easy to be humble when we’ve failed, but hard to be humble when we’ve achieved great success. Paul instructed Timothy not to put a novice into a position of leadership in the church because pride is self-sufficiency and self-exaltation, while humility is self-denial and dependence on God.
“A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23).
Pride can bring us low, but humility helps us stay honorable. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Pride will ultimately destroy us, but humility will honor us. Proverbs 15:33, 18:12, and 22:4 all declare that humility is a source of honor.
Whoever humbles himself is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. God's kingdom is built upon this principle of humility coming before honor. God's kind of love is selfless as can be seen in Jesus’ own demeanor and actions, and ultimately in the way He humbled himself so we might know the love of the Father. Pride is the only reason that strife comes (Proverbs 13:10); so remember, humility is the absolute key to walking in love with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Humility always comes before honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment