Day Five: Humility

The WORD of the Day:

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 

--1 Peter 5:6-7

Let Me Give You a Lift:

Humility might be one of the most overused, under-appreciated virtues in the entire Bible.  Some translations use the word "meek" instead of humble, and so in some quarters the word has come to mean "weak," "wimpy," or a "push-over."  In other contexts, the word is used to mean a person who comes from poverty (i.e., humble beginnings). We understand generally that it means the opposite of prideful, but from there we stammer a bit.  How do we be humble? What does it take? And why does God ask it of us?

The writer C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity described humility this way: it is knowing God, and knowing that we are nothing by comparison. That is an interesting thought. How often do we catch ourselves making comparisons with others, like "Well, at least I'm not like him..." or "Certainly I'm better than her, I would never..." as a way of making ourselves feel better? There is always someone we can find, even on our worst days, that is worse by comparison.  But true humility knows that the proper comparison is always between self and God, and in particular the perfect life of Christ.

When our litmus test for goodness is a comparison with Christ, we are able to see our own flaws. And when we see our own flaws, it makes us all the more forgiving to everyone around us.  It softens our hearts, makes us more malleable. And that is when God can really mold us into great people. We must humble ourselves before God so that he can shape us into something better.  

The second half of the verse is an encouragement for what it asks--that we give our worries over to God because He loves us--but also for what it says. God cares for us. He knows what we need even before we ask it.  When we let Him, He not only takes care of us, but He lifts us higher than we ever imagined possible.  But first we have to let go of the notion we can do it on our own.  To repeat the oft-used phrase, we have to "let go and let God."

Give it a Listen:

The song I chose for today is one of my favorites, called “You Lift Me Up” by the Afters. It couples the idea of letting go (humility) with the idea that even at our weakest we are strong through God. This is a VERY powerful video. In fact, if you have the time, I recommend listening to the words and then watching the visual. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!