Humility is a Super-Power

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 25-27, Psalms 85

I am convinced humility is a super-power. I believe it was former President Harry Truman who once said, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” I believe him. It’s certainly squares with my experience. When I have been willing to lay aside pride and ego, the impact of whatever is accomplished grows exponentially. When I have been willing to relinquish my rights for the sake of others, especially those in less powerful positions, all kinds of new opportunities emerge. When I have been willing to let go of control and work collaboratively and share authority and extend freedom, we reach heights I’ve never dreamed possible.

Imagine what could have happened if Nabal had welcomed David’s servants? Imagine if he had honored David for protecting his men when they were grazing his flocks in the wilderness? Imagine if he had been open rather than closed? Generous rather than selfish? Imagine if he had extended hospitality rather than close his doors? Tragically, Nabal chose the path of pride rather than humility and it eventually cost him his life. He hardened his heart and fell under God’s judgment. His choices almost led to a violence conflict and it was only the humility of his wife, Abigail, who averted a war. Abigail turned aside David’s anger by showing humility. She was generous and open-handed with him, interceding on behalf of her stubborn husband. She took matters into her own hands and intervened in order to stave off disaster and God honored her for her sacrifice.

You can live life in one of two directions. Either you will say to God, “Thy will be done” or God will say to you, “thy will be done.” You will either humble yourself before the Lord and live generously and open-handedly or you will harden your heart and live pridefully and selfishly. There really is no middle ground. Those who choose the latter path find themselves on the same trajectory as Nabal. Their hearts eventually turn to stone and they die with no one to mourn their passing. Those who choose the former path find themselves on the same trajectory as Abigail. Their lives are rich and full and when they pass, many come to mourn them. Which path do you find yourself on today? Is your heart softening towards God? Are you becoming more generous and more humble with each passing year? Is your heart hardening towards God? Do you find yourself becoming more selfish and prideful with each passing year?

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Samuel 28-31, Psalms 86

Humility

Readings for today: Judges 6-8, Psalms 72

One of my favorite books is by Andrew Murray. It’s a classic titled Humility. A short little read with insights packed into every page. Here is how he defines humility. “Humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all...The highest glory of the creature is in being only a vessel, to receive and enjoy and show forth the glory of God. It can do this only as it is willing to be nothing in itself, that God may be all. Water always fills first the lowest places. The lower, the emptier a man lies before God, the speedier and the fuller will be the inflow of the divine glory.”

I think we can all agree humility is a virtue sorely lacking in our world today. The spirit of our age is arrogance, pride, criticism, entitlement, and self-indulgence. It infects our politics. It infects our workplaces. It infects our schools, our homes, our neighborhoods, even our churches. It’s the spirit of the Pharisee. The spirit of self-righteousness. An unwillingness to submit to any other authority in our lives except our own. This includes God. Sure, we know how to say the right things. “God is first in my life!” “I love God the most!” “God is my all in all!” We sing songs that declare these truths. We sit through sermons where these truths are proclaimed. We tell these things to our Christian friends. But one look at our schedule. One look at our bank account. A glance at our Twitter feed, Instagram, or Facebook account. A moment of honest self-reflection. All these conspire to reveal what we really believe. We are our own gods. 

Gideon was different. Not perfect. Not blameless in his generation. Not powerful and mighty among men. No, what marked him was his humility. The angel of the Lord found him treading out grain in a winepress. Providing for his family at great risk to himself. When the Lord called him to become the next judge over Israel, Gideon echoes Moses at the burning bush. “Who am I that you would send me?” So unsure of himself, he puts God to the test by laying out a fleece not once but twice! God honors his humble heart. Gideon was humble enough to place his faith and trust into action. He tears down the altar of Baal. He sends almost his entire army home before a major battle. And then, when confronted at the beginning of Judges 8 by the Ephraimites who wanted to claim the glory, he humbles himself before them and honors them. It’s a stunning display. Finally, when it is all said and done, the people want to make him king. He refuses the crown. He refuses to take God’s rightful place in their lives. In the words of Murray, Gideon understood “the highest glory of the creature is in being only a vessel, to receive and enjoy and show forth the glory of God.” 

What about us? What does humility look like in our own lives? Surely, it is more than words. It is life lived intentionally under the sovereign authority of God. A life lost in the vision that God is all. A life lived before God, submitted to God, surrendered to God. What does such a life look like in the 21st century? It is a life of worship. Personal worship. Weekly worship with a church family. It is a life of Sabbath rest. It is a life of prayer. It is a life of reflection on the Scriptures. It is a life of service to the Kingdom. It is a life of devotion to our Lord. It is a life that intentionally directs all its resources - time, talent, treasure - towards God. It is a life that engages the world while remaining set apart. A life of risk where safety and comfort are sacrificed for the sake of the gospel. 

Readings for tomorrow: Judges 9-12, Psalms 73

Humble Leadership

Readings for today: Numbers 14-16, Psalms 44

What qualities do you look for in a leader? What kind of leader do you vote for, follow, or admire? One can draw all kinds of conclusions simply based on what leaders are the most popular or who gets platformed. In politics, it seems clear that we admire the leaders who project the most strength. We look for leaders who have the guts to stand up for what we believe in and fight against our political enemies. We look for leaders who can score the most points, denigrating their opponents. We look for leaders who confirm our bias and affirm our worst fears. I see the same thing in business, education, and sadly, in the church as well. Those pastors who seem to be the strongest and most certain and most successful are the ones who get the most attention. Even though they also fall at an alarming rate, we excuse their behavior and restore them quickly to their positions of influence and power.

Now consider the leadership of Moses. The man is as humble as it gets. How many time does he save Israel through his prayers of intercession? How many times does he stand in the gap before God as their mediator? How many times does he fall on his face before the Lord in humility rather than fight back against those who reject him or even seek to stone him? He’s simply incredible and it’s because he has a healthy, God-centered view of himself. He doesn’t think more highly of himself than he ought. He doesn’t think less of himself than he ought. He simply thinks of himself less. That’s humility. That’s the very definition of humble leadership.

I do my best to follow examples like Moses. Thankfully, I’ve had several mentors over the course of my life and one of the qualities almost all of them shared was humility. Steve Hayner was the president of Intervarsity and the president of Columbia Theological Seminary when he took me under his wing. A more humble man I have never met. Bud Sparling was a pastor at the church I serve for over fifteen years. He was an incredible man with an incredible testimony and humble to the core. Don Bachman is a highly successful businessman and one of the most passionate believers in Christ I’ve ever been around but what strikes me the most from meeting with him for almost thirty years now is his humility. I can only hope to attain to the level of humility each of these mentors have achieved. They remind me of godly men like Moses. Godly women like Mary. Godly people who do not seek their own good but instead, seek to love God and love others with all their hearts.

Readings for tomorrow: Numbers 17-18, Psalms 45

A Humble Life

Readings for today: 1 Corinthians 12-14

One of the curses of our current age is self-righteousness. Whether we’re talking politics or social issues or cultural norms or personality traits, there is this drive within all of us to be right in our own eyes. And this need to be right or righteous is elevated to an almost sacred level which means anyone who may disagree with us is wrong. And not just wrong but unrighteous which means they’re evil. And if they’re evil, they cannot be tolerated and must be destroyed. We see this dynamic on display in the rhetoric from many of our current political leaders who claim those who differ from them are out to “destroy democracy” or are enemies of America. This dynamic seems jet fueled by social media which only serves to channel outrage and hatred and anger. This, unsurprisingly, leads to violence and conflict which is justified if it serves your particular agenda but gets labeled an insurrection if it doesn’t. One would think with all the information we have at our fingertips that we would humbly acknowledge the deep complexities of our world and other human beings. One would think because we all share the same fundamental nature that we would assume the best of one another rather than the worst. Sadly, this approach to life seems beyond us.

Of all people, Christians should understand the danger of self-righteousness. We should be the first to relinquish the need to be right in our own eyes. We understand, as the Apostle Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 MSG, that “We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.” This side of heaven, we don’t have a clear view of ourselves much less the world around us. We can only see the outward appearance of a person, we cannot see their hearts. And this should create a deep sense of humility within all of us. A willingness to let go of the need to justify ourselves. A deep longing for the day when “the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!“ On that great day, every wrong will be righted…not by us but by God. Every injustice will be rectified…not by us but by God. Every tear will be wiped away…not by us but by God. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work for these things in the here and now - of course we should - it simply means we should approach these issues with humility, recognizing the deep complexities of the human condition that lead us to our choices.

I love how Paul describes the way we work for justice and righteousness in our world. He says, “But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” Trust God. Always hope. And love as generously and lavishly and unconditionally as possible. What a great recipe for life! I know in my own life, things changed for the better in my marriage and with my kids when I decided to approach them with love rather than the law. When I let go of my need to be right and instead chose the way of love and encouragement and blessing. The arguments in my home went away. The conflict in my home died down. The tension and stress decreased significantly. It doesn’t mean we don’t speak the truth to each other. On the contrary, we have family meetings quite often where we have to talk about hard things. But we always do so with love first. We find ways to affirm and encourage first. We hug first. We seek to understand rather than be understood. We seek to meet the other person where they’re at rather than demand they meet us where we’re at. We recognize we don’t often know all that’s going on in that other person’s heart and we give them room to express what they are feeling. Ultimately, we show each other a lot of grace and trust the Lord to do the work only He can do in each of our hearts.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 15-16

A Life Parable

Readings for today: Luke 14-15

I used to be that guy. The one who would elbow his way to the highest place of honor no matter what the occasion. At work, I would weigh in on every matter whether I knew what I was talking about or not. At school, I would try to answer every question. On the athletic field, I did my best to stand out. My god was achievement. My goal was success. My greatest fear was failure. All because I wanted to be known. I wanted to be praised. I wanted to be the center of attention. This was true in my work as a pastor as well. When I went to seminary, I felt like I had something to prove so I did my best to outwork and outshine my classmates. After I graduated and started serving the church, I would look for opportunities to demonstrate I was more effective than my colleagues. I was constantly in competition with those around me. Constantly on the lookout for potential threats. It was exhausting. Then the Lord called me to plant a church in Wisconsin. It was the most painful, heartbreaking experience of my life. He crucified my ego. He broke me of my pride. He stripped my life down to the studs. I had nothing left. I was at the end of myself. I was a complete and utter failure.

Perhaps that’s why I resonate so much with the parable Jesus tells in Luke 14. I spent most of my life trying to claim the seat of highest honor only to have the Lord send me back to some of the lowest places over and over again. I was put in my place frequently by those with much more experience at work. My teachers stopped calling on me at school. My athletic career eventually ended as those better than me took my place. Even among my pastoral colleagues, I often made a fool of myself. Then, when things were falling apart in Wisconsin, I remember reading this story and thinking to myself, “Wow, God has sent me to the lowest possible place. Where do I go from here?” The answer comes at the end of the parable. Seek the lowest place. Don’t try to raise yourself up. Stop competing with those around you. Stop jockeying for position. Stop trying to prove yourself. Instead, embrace obscurity and anonymity and insignificance and let the Master raise you up.

Honestly, I’ve not looked back. My life from the fall of 2009 onward has been one grace after another. As soon as I relinquished my need to be successful, my need for achievement, and my need for attention, I became far more open to God. Instead of exhausting myself trying to show everyone how smart and capable I am, I was able to let go. God spoke to me very clearly, commanding me to labor in obscurity, embrace anonymity, and pursue insignificance. These three words have guided my life ever since. Not only that, but He made it clear to me that I am not to seek another position nor ask for another raise. Instead, I am simply to trust Him to take care of me. Every opportunity I’ve had professionally over the last fifteen years has come from the Lord. I have not pursued a single one. Every financial blessing I’ve received from my church has come from the Lord. I’ve not asked for a single raise. In fact, I’ve turned several down. These are not points of pride for me but rather examples of what it means to live out the parable of Jesus. What about you? Where do you need to relinquish and let go? Where do you need to stop your striving and rest in God? Where do you need to give up control so the Lord can raise you up in His time and according to His will?

Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 19, Mark 10:1-31, Luke 16-17, 18:1-30

Humility

Readings for today: Zephaniah 1-3

I once met a man who gave up a six figure income here in the US to return to his native country where he did not draw a salary for three straight years. He went from being in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people to the bottom 1% of the world’s poor. He gave up security and safety to live in danger and place his family at risk. He gave up power and influence and privilege in one of the world’s most significant NGO’s to work among those who have been forgotten. When I expressed my admiration for such a sacrifice, his response was confusion. “What sacrifice?” he said. “My life is not my own. My life has never been my own. My life is in the hands of God to do with as He wills.” This, friends, is true humility and it’s what Zephaniah talks about in our passage for today. “I’ll leave a core of people among you who are poor in spirit - what’s life of Israel that’s really Israel. They’ll make their home in God.” (Zephaniah 3:12 MSG) It is hard to overstate the importance of humility to the Christian faith. Humility is what keeps us grounded before the Lord. Humility is what keeps us dependent on Him. Humility is what opens our hands and our hearts, allowing us to release the things in which we too often place our trust. Wealth. Health. Power. Privilege. Status. Authority. Pride. We are fools to place our trust in these things and yet it is so hard to resist temptation. We who have so much actually fall prey to our own desires. Our ability to gratify those desires instantaneously only serves to tighten our bonds. Thinking we are free, we choose to become slaves and there’s nothing more pitiful than a free man or woman choosing to remain in bondage. Nothing more heartbreaking than sitting in a cell with the door wide open, refusing to leave. This is the state we find ourselves in today. Our culture has made Self a “god” and the result is entitlement. Narcissism. Selfishness. Greed. Self-protection. And far too many of us worship at this altar. 

So how do we resist this temptation? How can we uproot Self out of the center of our lives and re-focus our devotion around God? Humility. The fundamental recognition that my life is not my own. My future is not mine to determine. My hopes are not set on the limited horizons of this world. My happiness does not come from chasing temporal pleasures. Humility honors God as sovereign over all of life, including my own. Humility submits. Humility surrenders. Humility bows before the God of the universe and willingly entrusts Him with all that we are and all that we have. This is the secret that my friend understood. He owned nothing. Not his house. Not his salary. Not his job. Not his family. Not his lifestyle. Not his degrees. Not his professional success. Not his future. None of it was his to own. All of it came from God and all of it was used by God as He willed for His good pleasure. So when God called him to leave adopted home and move back to his native country to help his people recover from a genocide, he went. No questions asked. The Master called. My friend answered. The King issued a command. My friend obeyed. The Father made an appeal. My friend responded in faith. Though life has been much harder. Much more difficult. Much more painful and heartbreaking. He has no regrets.  

Humility. It’s not just an attitude of the heart. Not just a thought process in the mind. It is a way of life. It means holding onto the things of this world loosely, knowing the Lord may require them at any time. It means holding onto our hopes and dreams loosely, knowing the Lord may change course at any time. It means holding onto even our pain and heartbreaks and suffering loosely, knowing the Lord often leads His people through such experiences to teach them of His sufficiency. It means holding onto our strength and safety and security loosely, knowing the Lord may demand our lives at any given moment.

Now all this may sound scary. Frightening if this has not been your path. Here’s the good news. God doesn’t ask for blind obedience. He doesn’t require us to step into the great unknown. He gives this promise to all who walk humbly before Him...“Don’t be afraid. Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, He’ll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs.” (Zephaniah 3:16-17 MSG) God can be trusted. God is true to His Word. His faithfulness never ends. His love never fails. Simply believe and let God take you by the hand today. 

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35

No One is an Island

Readings for today: 2 Samuel 22-23, Psalm 57

President Harry Truman once said, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.” Truer words were never spoken. Over the course of my life, I’ve had seasons where I tried to do it all myself. Tried to achieve it all myself. Tried to shoulder the burden all myself. Tried to hoard all the credit for myself. Those are some of the worst seasons of my life. Seasons where I experienced burnout and depression and frustration and anger. Seasons where I was exhausted and on the verge of giving up. Those seasons fed the unhealthy “hero complex” that lurks inside me, a vestige of growing up as the oldest child in an alcoholic home, and it threatens to poison everything I do. Thankfully, God confronted me years ago through a wise and discerning counselor. He told me clearly that He “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” and He challenged me to embrace obscurity, anonymity, and insignificance. To let go of my need to be the best. To let go of my need for recognition. To let go of my need to perform or appear perfect. He charged me with celebrating those around me. Lifting others up. Decreasing so that others might increase. Taking the lowest place so that I might rejoice as those around me might be loved more than I, esteemed more than I, and preferred over me in all things. The result? A profound sense of personal freedom. The building up of the church into the community she was designed and created by God to be. Greater Kingdom impact through those I’ve been able to equip, encourage, help, and celebrate over the years.

I imagine David must have felt the same way. It’s why he made sure to give credit where it was due. First and foremost to God. 2 Samuel 22 is a beautiful song of praise declaring the wonders and glories of God. David takes no credit for himself for his life. He gives it all to God. He understands it was God who lifted him up out of the shepherds fields. It was God who gave him victory after victory in his life. It was God who anointed him king and made him ruler over Israel. It was God who made his name great and secured a future for his household. Secondly, David understood none of what had taken place would have been possible without the strong leaders God put around him. The Three. The Thirty. The mighty men who accomplished incredible feats of valor and led his armies in battle. Without them, David would have been nothing. David would have come to nothing. So he makes sure to spread the credit around. He makes sure their names are recorded in the history books so they are never forgotten. He even chronicles some of their most famous exploits, deeds that rival his own. David is clearly in a humble place here at the end of his life.

What about you? Do you give credit to God for all He has done in your life or do you believe your achievements are due to your own strength, talent, and wisdom? Do you honor God for all He has given you or do you hoard the credit for yourself? When people take a glance at your social media feeds or engage in conversation with you or observe the way you act; what do they see? Someone who’s all about self-promotion? Or someone who deflects and gives glory to God and others? Do you find yourself clinging to titles and position and authority? Or do you leverage your influence in service to others? Do you celebrate those around you? Constantly lifting them up? Or do you remain silent as those around you get the credit? Jesus once said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Is that how you understand your life? Is that how you understand your calling from God?

No one is an island unto themselves. No one accomplishes or achieves on their own. The cultural idea that we each have to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps is nonsense. It’s a myth. All of us have help along the way and the humble man or woman readily shares the credit with God and with those around them.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Humility

Readings for today: 2 Samuel 7, 1 Chronicles 17, Psalms 1-2, 33, 127, 132

Humility is the crown of all character traits. It helps us maintain proper perspective. It keeps us in our proper position before the Lord. It is the key to living a joyful, peaceful Christian life. David was a humble man. At least at this point in his life. When God rejects David’s plan to build Him a Temple and instead tells David that He will build David a house, David immediately responds with humble prayer. “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?” (1 Samuel 7:18b NLT) Some might argue David’s getting the better end of the deal here so of course he submits but that’s not totally the case. Temples in the ancient world were symbols of divine power and authority. They granted divine sanction to the rule of kings. There is a loss here for David that’s fairly significant in that he will not enjoy the same kind of “divine right of kingship” that many of his peers would in other cultures. At the same time, David is wise enough and humble enough to realize his “divine right” doesn’t come from a building but from the Lord. He expresses complete confidence in God as the one who would “build” David’s house. “And now, O Lord God, I am your servant; do as you have promised concerning me and my family. Confirm it as a promise that will last forever.” (1 Samuel 7:25 NLT) Not only that but David looks beyond himself to the true purposes behind God’s plans. It’s not to make David great but to make the name of the Lord great among the nations. This is why God is going to bless the household of David. “And may your name be honored for ever so that everyone will say, “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!” (1 Samuel 7:26 NLT)

What is godly humility? It is first and foremost a recognition of our position before God. We are mere mortals. Our lives are like the grass that withers and fades away. We are forgotten within a generation or two. All that we accomplish in this life turns to dust pretty quickly. God, on the other hand, is the sovereign Lord of the universe. He holds all of life in His hands. He stands outside of time and space. He reigns in glory forever. There is truly none like God. Not in heaven. Not on earth. Not under the earth. Not in the past. Not in the present. Not in the future. God alone is worthy of all worship and adoration and reverence and awe for He is holy and awesome in power. Second, humility is expressed in our complete confidence that God will do what He has promised. David believed God when He said He would make David’s name great and build him a dynasty that would last for all generations. Like Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah and Rachel, Moses, Joshua, and all those who had come before him, David trusted God and it was credited to him as righteousness. He had full confidence that God was able to do what He had promised. Finally, humility never seeks to elevate self. It never engages in self-promotion. It never seeks attention. It always looks beyond itself to the true object of our devotion which is God Himself. The truly humble person places themselves in God’s hands to use as He sees fit for His glorious purposes in the world. They are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of God’s mission in the world so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

This begs the question…how does one become humble? How does one cultivate a spirit of humility? Psalm 1:2 gives us the answer. “They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.” If you want to become a humble person before the Lord, the way to do it is to spend time in His Word every day. “Thrilling to God’s Word”, as Eugene Peterson says so beautifully in the Message, “Chewing on Scripture day and night.”

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Samuel 8-9, 1 Chronicles 18

Humble Leadership

Readings for today: Numbers 10-13, Psalm 90

There seems to be a yearning in the human heart for deep connection. To God. To other human beings. There is a real craving in the world today for authenticity. A desire to “be real” and be known. I hear it all the time and I feel it down in my bones as well. The problem, of course, is most folks don’t really want to engage on an authentic level because it’s not very pretty when we do! We run into all kinds of sin and ugliness and we’re not very good at accepting each other’s faults. We aren’t very good at showing each other grace. We aren’t very good at forgiveness and reconciliation because such things take a lot of work. So we settle. We settle for less in our human relationships. We settle for not being known. Not being understood. Not being connected. And worst of all, we settle in our relationship with God. We only let Him in so far. We only let Him reign and rule over parts of our lives, not the whole. We only submit halfway and the result is a lot of pain and suffering and heartache. 

Nothing’s new under the sun. The people of God have been struggling with these things for thousands of years. It’s like the struggle is hardwired into our system by the Fall. (Remember that tragic event in Genesis 3? It frames everything!) You think about the blessings Israel enjoyed. A literal pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. God visibly present among them! God’s glory filling the Tabernacle. Moses literally speaking to God on their behalf. Silver trumpets blowing every time they went forth to remind them God would be with them. The parting of the Red Sea. The deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Rescue from the plagues. Manna in the wilderness. The miracles they experienced were incredible! And still they complained! Still they struggled to believe! Still they rebelled!

“And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.” (Num. 11:1) 

“Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat!” (Num. 11:4)

“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the Lord heard it.” (Num. 12:1-2)

“And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." (Num. 13:33)

Leading God’s people has never been easy. There is always complaining. Always whining. Always criticism. But guess what? That’s real! That’s authentic! That’s people being themselves. And if we’re honest, none of us are immune. Even Moses complains, “I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.” (Num. 11:14) So what’s the answer? Humility. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Numbers 12:3, “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” What a statement! Moses’ leadership was not based on his power or eloquence or influence or wealth or talent. It was based primarily on his humility. His meekness. And because Moses considered others more important than himself, he wasn’t threatened. God put His Spirit on other leaders. He wasn’t threatened when God’s Spirit showed up in other parts of the camp. Reminds me of the famous quote from Harry Truman, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.”  

Humility gives us the ability to accept other people for who they are...warts and all. It gives us the ability to extend grace even in difficult circumstances. It gives us the ability to address the log in our own eye first before we go to pluck the dust out of our brother or sister’s eyes. Most importantly, it is humility that allows us to submit our lives to the Lord and to follow in His ways.

Readings for tomorrow: Numbers 14-16, Psalm 95

Glory

Readings for today: John 1:1-3, Psalm 8, Psalm 104

Father, through Your Holy Spirit, open Your Word to me that I may meet you face to face, hear your voice, learn what you would have me learn, and grow ever deeper in my faith. I pray this in the name of Jesus, amen. 

As I read these words, I look out the window of a home high above Grand Lake. It’s winter. The snow has been falling the entire time we’ve been here. Our family is on their annual post-Christmas vacation to the mountains of Colorado. The lake is large and deep. Significant portions have yet to freeze over. The trees are laden with several inches of snow. The ground covered and every morning we can see the tracks of the animals who’ve passed by in the night. The stars at night have been covered by the clouds but normally they blaze with a brilliance we cannot see from our home in Parker. There’s just something about coming up here that brings us closer to God. Closer to our Creator. Gets us in touch with the wonder of all He has made. And it brings new meaning to the words, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:4) 

When I pause in the silence and solitude of a winter morning with my family still asleep and consider the blessings God has poured into my life, I am in awe. I enjoy the love of a godly woman who’s been at my side for almost thirty years. I have deep friendships with my four children, two of whom are now adults and launching out on their own. I am blessed by the relationships I have with my parents, in-laws, siblings and their families. I am financially secure. My body is healthy and strong. My mind is clear. I have the privilege of serving as pastor for an amazing church, alongside spiritual leaders I admire, and work with a group of people I get to call friends. I get to teach aspiring pastors at a local seminary. I get to travel the world to preach the gospel and train church planters to go to places where the name of Jesus has never been heard. I get to serve our denomination in a variety of capacities as we seek God’s will for the future of our life together. My life is rich and full. This must be the “glory and honor” the Psalmist is talking about. It’s less about titles and achievements and more about relationships and the opportunities God gives us to serve in His Kingdom. 

What keeps me from pride? What keeps human beings humble before the Lord? Here again, the Psalmist provides the answer. “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 104:33-35) I keep my eyes focused on God. He gives and takes away. Surely I’ve had my dark moments along the way. Times when I wasn’t sure I could pay the bills. Times when my physical health wasn’t great. Times when my marriage was on the rocks. Times when my relationships with my children was strained to the point of breaking. Times when my professional career was in shambles. Yes, I’ve had my share of hard times. But in those moments, I discovered God at His most glorious! When I needed Him most, God was always there! Faithful. Steadfast. True. “In the beginning was the Word…” In our present darkness is the Word. At the end of all things will be the Word. He is the one who was and is and is to come! Place your trust in Him today!

Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 3-5

The Call to Humility

Readings for today: Habakkuk 3, Zephaniah 1-3, Haggai 1-2, Revelation 15-16

I met a man once who gave up a six figure income here in the US to return to his native country of Rwanda where he did not draw a salary for three straight years. He went from being in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people to the bottom 1% of the world’s poor. He gave us security and safety to live in danger and place his family at risk. He gave up power and influence and privilege in one of the world’s most significant NGO’s to work among those who have been forgotten. When I expressed my admiration for such a sacrifice, his response was confusion. “What sacrifice?” he said. “My life is not my own. My life has never been my own. My life is in the hands of God to do with as He wills.” This, friends, is true humility. 

“But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord...” (Zephaniah‬ ‭3:12‬) It is hard to overstate the importance of humility to the Christian faith. Humility is what keeps us grounded before the Lord. Humility is what keeps us dependent on Him. Humility is what opens our hands and our hearts, allowing us to release those things in which we too often place our trust. Wealth. Health. Power. Privilege. Status. Authority. Pride. We are fools to place our trust in these things and yet it is so hard to resist temptation. We who have so much actually fall prey to our own desires. Our ability to gratify those desires instantaneously only serves to tighten our bonds. Thinking we are free, we choose to become slaves and there’s nothing more pitiful than a free man or woman choosing to remain in bondage. Nothing more heartbreaking than sitting in a cell with the door wide open, refusing to leave. This is the state we find ourselves in today. Our culture has made Self a “god” and the result is entitlement. Narcissism. Selfishness. Greed. Self-protection. And far too many of us worship at this altar. 

So how do we resist this temptation? How can we uproot Self out of the center of our lives and re-focus our devotion around God? Humility. The fundamental recognition that my life is not my own. My future is not mine to determine. My hopes are not set on the limited horizons of this world. My happiness does not come from chasing temporal pleasures. Humility honors God as sovereign over all of life, including my own. Humility submits. Humility surrenders. Humility bows before the God of the universe and willingly entrusts Him with all that we are and all that we have. This is the secret that my friend understood. He owned nothing. Not his house. Not his salary. Not his job. Not his family. Not his lifestyle. Not his degrees. Not his professional success. Not his future. None of it was his to hold onto. All of it came from God and all of it was used by God as He wills for His good pleasure. So when God called him to leave Colorado Springs and move to Kigali to help his people recover from the genocide, he went. No questions asked. The Master called. My friend answered. The King issued a command. My friend obeyed. The Father made an appeal. My friend responded in faith. Though life has been much harder. Much more difficult. Much more painful and heartbreaking. He has no regrets.  

Humility. Not just an attitude of the heart. Not just a thought process in the mind. But a way of life. It means holding onto the things of this world loosely, knowing the Lord may require them at any time. It means holding onto our hopes and dreams loosely, knowing the Lord may change course at any time. It means holding onto even our pain and heartbreaks and suffering loosely, knowing the Lord often leads His people through such experiences to teach them of His sufficiency. It means holding onto our strength and safety and security loosely, knowing the Lord may demand even our lives at any time. 

Now all this may sound very scary. Very frightening if this has not been your path. Here’s the good news. God doesn’t ask for blind obedience. He doesn’t require us to step into the great unknown. He gives this promise to all who walk humbly before Him...“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes," says the Lord.” (‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3:17-20‬) God can be trusted. God is true to His Word. His faithfulness never ends. His love never fails. Simply believe and let God take you by the hand today. 

Readings for tomorrow: Zechariah 1-6, Revelation 17-18

Biblical Justice

Readings for today: Micah 6-7, Revelation 12

“The Lord has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” ‭‭(Micah‬ ‭6:8‬)

There may not be a better verse for our time. Our nation is crying out for justice. Our world stands in desperate need of kindness. And humility before God is the key to it all. The people Micah was speaking to were going through all the right motions. They were bringing all the right sacrifices. Saying all the right prayers. Outwardly bowing before God in reverence. But God saw the hypocrisy of their hearts. He saw how their pious words didn’t match up with their actions. He saw the lack of integrity and the dis-integration of their lives. And they fell under His righteous judgment.

We have a choice, you see. Either we will do justice or God will. Either we will follow God’s ways and walk in obedience to God’s commands and live the lives He has created and called us to live or He will judge us for our sins. Friends, our sin impacts the world around us. It may be the people we live with. It may be the neighbors next door. The classmates at school. Co-workers at the office. Even people on the other side of the globe. Every word we say has a chance to give life or take life. Every dollar we spend has a chance to help or to hurt. Every vote we cast is a chance to bring God’s Kingdom a little closer or drive it further away. Every minute of every day is an opportunity to make an eternal difference in this world. Don’t buy it? Check out the studies on the impact of social media on mental health. (https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blog/centre-mental-health-blog/anxiety-loneliness-fear-missing-out-social-media) Now scroll through your posts from the last week. Are your contributions life-giving or life-stealing? Take a look at your budget or your online check register. Where are your dollars primarily going? Yes, we all have bills to pay. But what about the disposable income? Who’s getting the lion’s share? Most American Christians are giving less now than they did during the Great Depression! (https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2015/12/facts-christians-tithing) And what about churches? What do they do with the dollars they receive? How many of them actually take those dollars and deploy them into the world to make a difference for the gospel? According to a survey by Christianity Today, most churches only give around 5% to missions outside their doors. (https://www.pnwumc.org/news/how-churches-spend-their-money) Consider your voting record. Do you carefully consider the policy platform of the candidates you vote for or do you simply vote down the party line? Are you an advocate for policies that reflect God’s justice and mercy? Remember, God has entrusted the “dominion” of this world into our hands as human beings. He expects us to pursue justice in alignment with His will so that all creation can flourish under His divine love and care.

Of course, the temptation is to try to bring justice about in our own wisdom and strength. We see this happen all the time. We try to bring about God’s Kingdom without the king. Look at the public policies being proposed when it comes to the environment, policing, education, social policy, economic reform, etc. If you take a step back and think about it from a biblical perspective these policies sound a lot like heaven. Equal treatment for all. Equal justice for all. Equal access for all. Resource-sharing for all. No one left behind. Creation care. No need for any police. Surely all of us can affirm the hopes and dreams behind these aims? But we also know it’s unrealistic in a sinful world. We can pass all the laws and formulate all the policies we want but such things only restrain evil at best. They simply cannot change the human heart. The only way to drive out hate, anger, fear, and violence is to bow in humility before Jesus.

So here’s the great news. If we humbly walk before God. If we commit ourselves to love kindness and mercy. If passionately pursue justice. God will hear us and forgive us and heal our land. Listen to how Micah ends his prophecy…“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.” (Micah‬ ‭7:18-20‬) How amazing is our God? His love is steadfast! His faithfulness never ends! His mercies are new every morning! He is our only hope in this world and the world to come.

Readings for tomorrow: Nahum 1-3, Habakkuk 1-2, Revelation 13-14