Humility: Moving Up by Coming Down

Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

April 2, 2006

Rev. Eddie Smart

Philip. 2:3-8 (NRSV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

⁶who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

⁷but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

⁸he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Some of you remember that Mac Davis song from 1980. The chorus begins with this line:

“Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way..”

Some of you may have heard Ted Turner make the comment, “If I had a little more humility, I would be perfect.”

Today as we exam how to have the mind-set of Christ, we will explore the idea of humility. We will talk about what humility is and what it is not. For starters, humility is not what is described in the Mac Davis song. Humility is not the Ted Turner notion.

At the same time humility is not being a doormat upon which the world wipes it’s feet. Humility is not some sort of phony piety in which we make others think we don’t value who we are and the gifts God has given us.

Paul writes to the Philippians, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

Jesus said, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:14; 14:11

In Luke’s gospel, chapters 14 and 18, Jesus tells some parables that may help us understand this idea of humility.

The scene is a wedding banquet and you choose to take the seat of honor. Jesus says don’t do that. If you sit in the place of honor the host may come and ask you to move so that an honored guest can sit there. Boy, would that be embarrassing! He tells us that if we sit at the lowest place, we will feel good and be honored when the hosts invites us to a higher place in front of everyone. Luke 14:8-11

Jesus tells us, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:14; 14:11 In other words, “Don’t overestimate your own importance... Treat everyone else like royalty.”

Then Jesus says to the one who had invited him to dine, “Do not invite friends and relatives. They might repay you. Rather invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Invite those who have no way of repaying you. In this way you will be blessed.” It is in humility that we remove all the labels, differences, social order, and other barriers that separate us from others who are also children of God, created in God’s image.

Jesus then shares a parable about a great dinner in which all the invited guest choose not to come. Oh, they have their excuses, the purchase of a new piece of land, a yoke of five oxen that are brand new, and yes, “I just got married.”

When I was in Junior High School, I was not a very good basketball player. One day during the practice that happened during PE I was told that I could come to the practice that happened after school. I had never been asked to that practice before. It was for those who would be playing in real games.

Just before school was out for the day, we had an assembly. During that gathering they announced that I was the winner of a new portable stereo. Boy, was I excited and I wanted to get it home. Rather than go to that practice I went home with that new stereo. Mother and Dad were at work. No one was there, but I went home.

The next day I was not invited to practice after school. The message that I sent to the coach was that stereo was more important than his basketball practice.

I bet there is not an excuse the Lord has not heard. Well I just got married. I just got this new house, car, lake cabin...you name it. Every Sunday there is a banquet, a celebration honoring our God. Every Sunday there is a reason some of us cannot be there. What kind of message do we send to our Creator and Savior?

Jesus said in that parable that the host does not need those with excuses. Jesus says the host sent for those that Jesus was particularly partial to, the poor, the crippled, the blind.

Humility has to do with recognizing who we are relative to Almighty God. In humility there is a sense of dependence upon God and a relationship with God.

Jesus said, Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee. He prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of all my income.”

The other man was the tax collector. He prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” The man never looked up, beating himself on the breast.

And Jesus said, it would be this man that God would desire to be in relationship with. God’s choice would be the humble man. And then Jesus said, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Jesus is saying to you and me today, “Don’t over estimate your own importance, and treat everyone else like royalty.” That we call humility.

Ronald Goetz in Christian Century magazine has helped us understand this notion of humility. He wrote:

Humility is an honest and objective reflection of our real relationship to God. The fact is that we are all dependent. All that we have comes from God–our lives, our salvation, our hope, our Christ. God has given all; nothing is our own...[Humility] is a simple, objective recognition of the reality of God.

O, Lord it’s hard to be humble

Help us to do and be the best that we can.