A Lifestyle of Humility
Luke 14:7-11; John 13:3-5,14-15; Philippians 2:1-4
Why is God showing you this lesson now?
As a new year begins, many thousands of church members are filling various positions of leadership – some for the very first time. This lesson provides an important reminder for them, and for all believers.
One of the many needs within the body of Christ today, from the pulpit to the pew, is the need for evidence of Christian humility. Self-promotion may be seen as a virtue in athletics, politics or the workplace, but it has no place in the church of Jesus Christ.
Through the passages of this lesson and in other Scripture verses, God’s Word stresses the importance of humility. Consider Micah 6:8, where we learn that walking humbly with God is something He “requires” – and Romans 12:3, where we are instructed not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. No doubt God is concerned about how we treat one another, and about our attitudes toward others and ourselves.
In just a few days, on Sunday, Jan. 30, our denomination’s leaders are calling all of us to observe a day of prayer and repentance in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14-16. Take time to reread those verses. Notice the call for God’s people to “humble themselves.” I suspect that doing the humbling myself is preferable over God doing it for me!
How does this lesson connect to what God is doing in and around you?
Motive was a subject Jesus spoke about often. Self-interest was at the heart of the actions and attitudes of the Pharisees. Jesus not only exposed their sinful motives, but He also gave His followers numerous examples of humility. On the night of His arrest, He washed the feet of His disciples and called them to humbly serve one another in similar ways.
If humbling ourselves is so easy and natural, we would have experienced revival long before now. Instead, we tend to look around us and think, “Why am I the only normal person around here?” Or, “Look at how the numbers have changed for the better since I’ve been the pastor here!” Or, “If only people would ask me, I could tell them how to do church the right way!”
Jesus told us plainly that without Him, we can do nothing. A lifestyle of humility is something He still desires for His disciples.
Rick Astle– Lessons by Rick Astle, director of missions for Waccamaw Baptist Association. Astle is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and Southern Seminary. He is the author of two books and lives in Conway.