Stay True, Be Humble
Jesus holds up the virtue of humility as the authentic way of being human. Jesus teaches us practically by saying don’t sit at the seat of honor when you are invited to a party. If it’s not for you, that will be embarrassing. But if it is, they will ask you to it, and all will see (Luke 14). Jesus also instructs that humility opens our eyes to God, whether approaching the Kingdom like little children or recognizing our need like the tax collector and not the pharisee in Luke 18. Beyond teaching humility, Jesus models humility, “but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross (Phil. 2:7-8, NRSV).”
The virtue of humility is often not rewarded in our world. Do you prefer people who are humble or arrogant? It’s an easy choice. We can cultivate it by paying attention to competing systems, adopting a mindset, and embracing a way of living.
Competing Systems
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?… Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (James 4:1;4)
Jame is frustrated with his friends because of the conflicts that exist within their community. He says that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Yikes. But I thought Jesus so loved the world that he came to save it? That’s true too. The Greek word cosmos that’s used here is a synonym sometimes for God’s good creation that God will save and sometimes refers to the broken present order of things depending on the context. It’s a helpful warning for us. There are two systems at work in the world. One is God’s system of grace, mercy, peace, and servanthood. The other is one of malice, strife, anger, and arrogance. We often have a foot in both systems. To cultivate humility in our lives, we must be on the lookout for where we are out of tune with God’s system. The places we are experiencing envy, hoarding, exclusion, and malice are symptoms of where we have gone awry.
Mindset: Pursuing, not obtaining
Submit yourselves therefore to God…Humble yourselves before the Lord…Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters…There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:7-12)
Humility can never be fully obtained because you lose it as soon as you think you have it. Therefore it requires us to adopt a mindset in which we always are pursuing humility. James offers these tips for pursuit: submit to God, watch your mouth, and refrain from judging others. I think it’s a great list. Each of us is tempted to be like God instead of being human. The words we say matter and will either guide us towards or away from humility. Finally, to judge someone requires us to put ourselves over them leading us to arrogance instead of humility.
A way of living: Embrace the mist
What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:14b)
Humans tend to overestimate their ability in just about everything. How well they drive, how much impact they can have, their listening skills, and their ability to obtain a three-year plan. God tells us we are of infinite value but also finite beings that need God and one another. Anxiety, depression, and disconnection from others often result from our inability to be all that we are trying to be. But, if we let go of our delusions of grandeur and our belief that we have to tell the world how significant we are, we can find peace in the present.
If you are looking for a lesson in embracing the mist of your life, spend some time with a young child. They play with legos, run, laugh, and tell you they love you because they are not worried about the fake future but just engaged in the infinite moment right before them. We can do the same and cultivate humility in our lives.
