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Written by Deanna Brooks, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas.
What do you think of when you hear the word “humble” or “humility”?
Humility is defined as: not proud or arrogant… expressing an attitude of deference… modest… unpretentious… not looking at others as inferior to oneself (or not thinking of self as better than others).
Humility does not mean a person debases himself or puts himself down. It is possible to recognize our skills and strong points… and to be happy with our talents, but still be humble because we have an attitude of thankfulness for what we have, and we realize we are blessed. It gives us a healthy perception of ourselves.
In both the Old and New Testaments, humility is a quality to be desired. It is essential for establishing a right relationship with God and a healthy relationship with others. It also describes a character quality that properly and accurately values oneself while recognizing one’s sinfulness… sinfulness that is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ when we are immersed for remission of sins.
Humility does not demand everything go my way… it does not think first of self. Selfishness is one of humility’s opposites, because it puts self first.
When pregnant Hagar was told to return to Sarai and submit to her, she did (Gen. 16:9). Years later when Ishmael was laughing at Isaac, and he and Hagar were sent away (Gen. 21), we have no record of her rebelling or arguing, but in humility she took the provisions Abram gave her and left.
Moses shows his humility when God is angry with the Israelites and threatens to destroy them and start anew with Moses, and Moses pleads with Him not to do it (Ex. 32).
Twice David stopped his men from killing Saul (1 Sam. 24, 26) saying, "I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed" (24:10b). David was much loved, and he could have done it and become king, but he chose to let God be in control.
John (the Baptizer), cousin of Jesus, had quite a following, but he said about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Jesus is our ultimate example in humility. On the night He was betrayed, He took a towel and basin of water and washed His disciples’ feet… knowing Judas would betray Him, Peter would deny Him, and they all would run except for John (John 13).
Paul wrote: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (held on to), but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).
James, the brother of Jesus, wrote: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Proverbs 11:2 tells us: “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”
Isaiah 66:2 reads, “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
In Philippians 2:3 we read, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
Ephesians 4:1, 2 reads, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.”
Colossians 3:12 tells us, “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”
Micah 6:8 says, “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
It’s easy for us to want our way, to demand our rights, to want to be noticed.
In Luke 14 Jesus tells a parable about choosing a seat of honor at a banquet, then being asked by the host to move, because that seat was for someone else. In verse 11, Jesus says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
As we give honor to others, people will notice, and most importantly, we will be pleasing our Heavenly Father.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #humility #guestwriter #blog
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Written by Sabrina Campos, Brazil Coordinator with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Memphis, Tennessee
Life is messy. Even for our heroes of the faith, life was full of confusing relationships and questionable decisions. Through it all, one constant may be God’s faithfulness.
Hagar is one of those women that makes a huge splash on the scene, even though her stories are full of ambiguity, desperation, and jealousy. Hagar was an Egyptian slave that made up a part of Abram and Sarai’s mobile community. Due to frustrations that she had nothing to do with, she was obliged to sleep with God’s (supposedly) faithful patriarch of patriarchs.
Maybe it was for the best. After a lifetime or servitude, now her rank was elevated. Hey, in fact she might be the top woman around. Sarai was the “official” wife, but she was the one providing Abram with a son. Surely that had to mean something, right?
Perhaps Hagar let that get to her head. But one thing is clear: because of Hagar’s pregnancy, a serious conflict arose between her and Sarai. It got so bad that Sarai (with Abram’s approval/blessing!) banished her to the wilderness. Hagar was definitely humbled.
Often in our lives, humility is most difficult when our status is questioned. Our talk around humility generally centers around making sure that we stay grounded, not floating above the clouds. But what if we were dragged below the mud? What if the outside world has humbled us? That is often when it is most difficult to not defend our egos or reputations. We are taught that we need to learn to defend ourselves. We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that in order to protect our identity and our self-worth, we have to lash out at others.
What can we learn from Hagar? Or better yet, what can we learn from Hagar’s story?
What I see gives me hope when humility feels a whole lot more like humiliation. God appears to Hagar as she’s in the desert. He sends her back to the place where she will be honored and hated, exalted and humiliated. What the messenger of YHWH says, though, reverberates throughout the centuries. We can still hear it now. There are three important aspects:
• He blesses: “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude” (Gen 16:10b). In the midst of utter humiliation, God reminds Hagar that His action in the world is what matters. He has the last word, and He is a God determined to bless His people, however ugly their entry into the story was.
• He hears: “Because the Lord has listened to your affliction” (Gen 16:11b). God reveals himself to Hagar as a God who hears. I’m not sure you’ve ever been alone in the wilderness. If you’re not accustomed to it, it can be creepy. The first time I was alone, I understood the Psalms asking if God could hear them so much more profoundly. In the middle of the forsaken desert was Hagar, sure that her last words would go unheard as she succumbed to death. Instead, God tells her, “I heard you.”
• He sees: “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “you are the God of seeing’” (Gen. 16:13a). Hagar realized that God had revealed Himself to her as a God that sees. After years of being a slave where people’s glances jumped over her as if she were an object and not a person, she learned that God sees her. She has now been marked for life.
Hagar’s story is full of hope because God bursts into the story in a glorious way. When we are humbled, practicing humility, but not by choice, let us remember Hagar’s story. Let us call to our minds and our hearts that our Creator is a God that blesses, hears, and sees us.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #humility #humbled #Godseesyou #guestwriter #blog