C. S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”
The Apostle Peter wrote on humility too in 1 Peter 5:5-6: “…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
The word clothe here means to dress in an apron, as a servant would to perform their job. In God’s kingdom, it’s only when we live with this servant-humility that God shows us favor.
We see the humility principle play out continually in Jesus’ life. Luke 14:1-27 tells us that one Sabbath day, Jesus went to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee. While He was there, He was being “carefully watched.”
This wasn’t the watching you would do to learn from someone; the word used here is paratereo. It means “to inspect scrupulously and insidiously.” The Pharisees were attempting to discredit Jesus so His popularity would wane among their people.
They seemed to find their chance when an ill man came to Jesus.
Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But no one answered. So He asked, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” Still, silence.
Of course, Jesus knew the law prohibited work on the Sabbath. Still, He healed the man.
Why? I think Jesus wanted us to understand that humility regards motives. Are we serving God to look good? Or are we serving Him to truly honor Him? Genuine humility will always honor God’s ways above our own. And God’s ways always will involve serving Him and others.
Genuine humility will also consider others’ interests as well as our own. In verse 7-9, Jesus instructs the guests: “… When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.”
Fighting for our own way keeps us from seeing the bigger picture, but when we consider others, everyone finds their place.
Finally, in Luke’s story, Jesus shows that genuine humility prioritizes God’s calling for His Church. In verses 12-14, Jesus tells the host to not only invite family and friends to his banquets, but to invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind. Only then would he receive blessing for his generosity.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees to shift from serving themselves to serving God and others, as He wants every believer to.
So, let’s be the Church Jesus died to save, serving God and others with genuine humility. When we honor God, He honors us, leading us to where we’re meant to be!
