I recently heard some words regarding humility that have stirred up some thoughts. The idea expressed was we needed to be less to become more. It was in the context of biblical leadership from I Peter 5. While I believe true servanthood that follows the Jesus way involves "the first shall be last and the last shall be first", I believe this reflects more a model of Christ-like leadership rather than true humility. I strongly believe that leadership, at the heart, is servanthood.
Humility is not about the spotlight, or the receiving of praise. I think it is fairly obvious we can be doing the most noble, worthy action for the Kingdom but if our underlying goal is to appear righteous, to appear "less", then we've missed the mark. I am a bit concerned with the phrase because the stated goal is to become more by becoming less. It seems a bit like a type of hampster wheel that leads to nowhere. Less is more, less is more, less is more. It begins to sound like a squeak in the hampster wheel when the hampster if furiously trying to get somewhere.
I am more comfortable with a quote I came across several years ago from Phillips Brooks that describes humility: "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show what the real smallness of your greatness is."
I like this because it allows us to stand fully upright in all we've been created to be. Jesus said early on in Matthew 5 "You are light..... You are salt..." For us to effectively advance His Kingdom we need to operate fully as He says we are. To do less robs Him of His glory, the glory of His creation and incarnation in us.
I also like the quote because of the direct implication of standing fully against God'd fullness. By doing this we begin to see how true our smallness is and an un-manufactured humility will arise as we keep that picture in mind.
I have this quote printed underneath a meaningful picture hanging in my office at work. It is a photograph of three individuals, mere specs walking up a field with the backdrop of a huge Colorado ridge rising behind them. Those three men, one of which was me, could not walk effectively if they were trying to be small. They simply are small against the glory of God-spoken creation. No false humility is needed when one stands fully as created by God, against God Himself.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI've never posted a comment on your blog before though I've read it and enjoyed it many times. I must admit I feel a little odd since it is a place for you to share your deepest thoughts. I too am wrestling with false humility. I've just come off of an exchange with one of Liz's friends on FB feeling like I was totally inadequate in expressing the Gospel. I was trying to express who God is and all she could hear was a "self-righteous born again religious person". Every word I typed felt more and more futile after reading her responses. I'm supposed to give devotions tomorrow night and I'm afraid I'm going to miss the mark. Then I read your blog. Now I know I was standing in the middle of the field jumping up and down pointing to the greatness of God's creation around me and all she could see was some fool jumping up and down. I thnk sometimes we do need to get out of the picture entirely, for others to see only Him. Some people think we are trying to garner the spotlight no matter what we do to point to Him.
Mike N.