Saturday, December 11, 2010

Humility

I have always wanted to have the character trait of humility in my life. Sadly, I often fall short. In my attempts to be humble, I am ultimately focusing on myself, trying to make myself better. Funny, that doesn't sound very humble to me at all. I think true humility is more about the state of an individual rather than the attempt of the individual. By "state" I don't mean "situation" either. Poor or rich can be humble, although the poor often seem to understand it better. By "state" I mean, the trait is part of the person, naturally! God calls us to be humble. But, it seems the more we try, the more self-focused we become. What does He mean then? How can humility be possible for anyone?

I have been reading a book with my quiet time, "It's Not about ME", by Max Lucado. Today I was reading particularly about God's Holiness. Lucado referenced Isaiah, a prophet in the old Testament, as he was encountering the Holiness of God. "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Isaiah 6:5 Lucado states that "the God-given vision is not about Isaiah but about God and his glory... he finds humility not be seeking it, but by seeking HIM." At this point I had what most call, an EPIPHANY! A revelation to my soul! Humility is not about me! It's about GOD. God is humble, perfect, holy. The only way for us to truly BE humble, is to look beyond ourselves to HIM. We will see the difference for sure, between our nature and His. But what truly makes this all work is that God "desires mercy, not sacrifice". He wants to extend mercy to us in our sinful state, while He is perfect. He does not want our attempts at perfection or humility or holiness. He knows we cannot do this on our own. The only way to BE holy, to BE perfect as He is perfect, to BE humble, is to look at Him and accept His mercy.

Once in a restaurant, I was carrying a really full glass of water to a table. I kept looking at the glass and walking ever so carefully as to not spill it, although I was spilling it little by little. A waiter told me to stop looking at the glass and to just look in the direction for whom it was intended. Amazingly, I walked much faster and was no longer spilling it at all. Forgive the cheesiness of the analogy, but when we look at God instead of constantly trying to better ourselves in our own strength, when we look in His direction, and give ourselves to Him, we naturally do better, we naturally become holy, we naturally become humble.

I hope to BE more humble this Christmas, but not by me, but by the very best Christmas gift, God, Immanuel.

2 Cor 3:18 "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."