The Influence Of Humility
The sacred text holds a profound truth, a truth that not only invites but compels us to explore the concept of humility, a concept of utmost importance.
James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
We should note something about the two words, proud and humble, and it has to do with how God reacts to either one. God resists one but gives grace to the other.
In this passage, each word is attached to a person because, truthfully, every person on the planet moves in one or the other of these two attitudes of heart.
If I wish to experience the richness of God’s favor in my life, then I need to walk in a profound understanding of my great need for it and His willingness to give it to me on the merits of Christ.
If I adopt attitudes that assume God owes me something based on something I have done that He must now repay, I have discarded humility and stepped into a position of being proud.
God owes me nothing, and there is nothing that I can or will ever do that will put Him in a position to owe me anything. He has never been and will never be indebted to me.
That means any good I receive from Him is rooted in His goodness and grace toward me, and therefore, I am very grateful for it.
Some things move God’s heart. Humility is one. It is a very powerful one at that. Jesus humbled Himself. What did Jesus’ humility look like?
Jesus held a high position as One equal with God because He was God, but He was willing to lay that aside to become a man for a purpose that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit agreed to. Jesus even humbled Himself to the point of death as a common man so that He could accomplish the eternal purpose. In other words, an equal subjected Himself to the others as though they were His superiors so that the purpose could be accomplished and we could all be saved.
Jesus was not moved to compete for His place of honor among the Godhead. He was able to humble Himself and take on a lower position for the sake of others in agreement with the wisdom that determined how it should be accomplished. Humility can surrender and submit to God’s authority and God-given authority from a place of respect. In Hebrews, we discover that because of His humility, God exalted Jesus to the highest place of honor.
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
Comparison for the sake of feeling equal to or superior to another is not rooted in humility. God gives grace to the humble. Grace is not measured in numbers, like how many boast in social media influence or the size of gatherings. Grace is measured in His favor on a life, and God will always respond to humility with grace. There are many examples of what humbling oneself looks like in the Scriptures. I want to walk in the wisdom of that attitude of heart and embrace the behavior consistent with it. I want the influence of humility to be evident in my life so that Jesus is the One magnified.
