Search This Blog

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Jesus' Example of Humility

The message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday morning, June 21, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Philippians 1:27--2:11.


            Humility is one of those virtues that we don’t hear a whole lot about these days.  Well, that’s not actually true.  We hear about it all the time.  There are a lot of people who’ll pay all kinds of lip service to humility.  But actually seeing it, actually experiencing humility is another matter entirely.
            Humility is kind of a tricky thing to have, you know?  If we actually think of ourselves as humble, then we might not be.  And if we’re pleased about how humble we are, then the chances are we’re not humble at all.
            And it can be easy to misunderstand what humility is.  Humility is not having a low opinion of yourself.  We can believe in ourselves, we can believe in our ability, we can believe in our talents, and still be humble.  In fact, we should do it that way.
            Let’s look at what Paul says about humility.  He starts with a definition of it.  He begins with, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.”  
            What does that refer to?  It refers to attitude, right?  By starting here, Paul is saying that humility is not so much concerned about what we do.  It’s concerned with why we’re doing what we do.  Are we doing something to help someone else?  Or are we doing something for what we can get out of it?  What’s our motivation?
            Maybe you think, well, what difference does our motivation make?  If we do something good, why does it matter whether we did it to help someone else or to further our own interests?  If the thing we did is good, if it ended up helping people, what the difference why we did it?
            Well, suppose I do something for Wanda.  Say that I cooked a fabulous meal for her.  I mean, there’s no way that’s going to happen, because I cannot cook worth a darn, but just suppose I could and I did.  Wanda would probably be very happy.  Well, I mean, after she’d gotten over the shock of it, she’d be happy.  And if that was the only reason I’d done it, just to try to make her happy, then I’d be happy, too.
But suppose, instead, that I had done that with the expectation that Wanda would do something for me in exchange.  Suppose I wanted a payback.  Well, one of two things would happen, right?  Either Wanda would feel obligated to do it, in which case she would not be nearly as happy about what I’d done.  Or, she would not do it, in which case I’d be disappointed because I had not gotten anything out of cooking a meal for her.  Either way, what I’d done would not make either of us happy.  Because it would not have been done out of humility.  It would not have been done out of a desire to serve her or anyone else.  It would’ve been done, as Paul says, out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  And it would not honor God.
The next thing Paul says goes right along with that.  He says we should “value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Value others above yourselves.  If we do that, we won’t have to worry about our motivation.  If we truly value others above ourselves, we won’t be doing anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Our own ambitions won’t matter to us.  We’ll automatically do things with the right motives, because we’ll be putting others’ needs ahead of our own.
But how do we actually do that?  I mean, it’s easy to say it.  Maybe we agree with it.  But it is not at all easy to put that into practice.  How do we do it?  How do we actually value others above ourselves?  How do we actually look not to our own interests, but to the interests of others?
Here’s how Paul tells us to do it.  Paul tells us to do it by looking to the example of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the divine Son of God.  Jesus is God--God the Son, part of the trinity.  Jesus was, in fact, God Himself come to earth to live among us mere human beings.
If there was ever anyone who walked the earth who had the right to feel like he was better than everyone else, it would be Jesus Christ, right?  Because, in fact, Jesus was and is better than any human being who’s ever lived.  
And make no mistake about it, Jesus knew that.  Jesus knew exactly who he was.  He knew he could do things no human being could do.  He knew he had power no human being had.  He knew he had a connection to God the Father that no human being had.  Jesus knew, in short, that he was, in fact, the divine Son of God.  
And yet, listen to what Paul says about Jesus.  He says that Jesus, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.  Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by being obedient to death--even death on a cross.”
Knowing exactly who he was, knowing exactly what power he had, knowing that, as he said in Matthew 26, he could call upon God the Father and God would put more than twelve legions of angels at his disposal, Jesus remained humble.  
You see, that’s the thing about valuing others above ourselves.  It does not mean that we have to think we’re worthless.  Jesus did not think he was worthless.  It does not mean that we have to think we’re not important.  Jesus did not think he was unimportant.  It does not mean that we have to think we’re insignificant.  Jesus knew how significant he was.
Valuing others above ourselves means making a deliberate choice.  It means that, knowing exactly who we are and what we can do, knowing exactly what talents and abilities we have, we choose to put other people’s interests ahead of our own.  That’s what Jesus did.  Knowing exactly who he was and what he could do, Jesus deliberately chose to put the interests of sinful human beings--you and me--ahead of his own interests.  Jesus did that even to the extent of dying--being killed, in a very painful way--so that our sins could be forgiven.
That’s the ultimate example of humility.  And that’s the ultimate example that you and I are supposed to follow.
It’s easy for us to make excuses not to follow that example.  We say, well, sure, but he was Jesus.  Of course Jesus could do that--that’s what made him Jesus.  Jesus could do all kinds of things you and I cannot do.
But that’s exactly why we should follow this example.  When you think about it, in some ways it should be easier for us than it was for Jesus.  You and I do not have the power Jesus had.  You and I cannot call down twelve legions of angels.  You and I are not at that high level that Jesus was and is.  We’re not even close.  Logically, then, it should be easier for us to put other people’s interests ahead of our own.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, if we truly want to call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, then Jesus’ example is the one we should always follow.
You know, when you think about it, there are a lot of things Jesus did that you and I cannot do.  We cannot work miracles.  We cannot feed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish.  We cannot make the blind see or the lame walk or any of those other things that Jesus did.  But this is one we can do.  You and I can be humble the way Jesus was.  You and I can put others’ interests ahead of our own.  It does not take any miraculous power.  It does not take anything but desire, the desire to follow Jesus.  The only thing that’s stopping us is us.
Paul finishes this passage by saying that, because of Jesus’ humility, God the Father exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.  So, will something like that happen to us, if we follow Jesus’ example?
I don’t know.  I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s not going to happen exactly that way.  No matter how humble I might be, I am not going to be given the name that is above every name.  Every knee is not going to bow to me, and of course that should not happen.  I am not and never will be on any level anywhere close to Jesus Christ.  That’s not what I mean.
But will there be some reward, some blessing of God, that is given to us if we follow Jesus’ example of humility?  Maybe.  I do believe that when we do our best to be faithful to God and serve God and show love to God, God blesses our efforts in some way.  That’s part of the justice of God.  But of course, that way may not be anything we’d have thought of.  And that way might not be a way that directly benefits us.
But the thing is, asking about a reward misses the point.  That gets us back to acting out of selfish ambition, which is exactly what Paul tells us not to do.  Our reward is that we are following Jesus Christ.  Our reward is that we are honoring God and being the people God wants us to be.  For us, as Christians, faithfulness to God is its own reward.  God does not owe it to us to do anything for us in return.  Thinking God owes anything to us is, again, acting out of selfish ambition, not out of humility or love of God.
Jesus gave his life for us.  If we truly believe that, and if we truly love him for it, we need to follow his example.  We especially need to follow his example of humility.  We can do it.  With God’s help, we can do it.  The only thing stopping us is us.

No comments:

Post a Comment