You know it matters who’s saying a thing. When a bus driver speaks of bus driving I am definitely paying attention. But when they start leaning in on world peace… well then they are simply giving an opinion. Everyday on the news you see pundits (an expert in a particular subject called on to give opinions to the public) offering their opinion. Even then I question the guy who studied war, but who’s not been in war, telling us ‘how it is’. I digress. Opinions should matter less and less to the disciple of Christ. The disciple should be more concerned with truth. Truth from not only an expert, but the Truth Himself. When God speaks it is truth, because He is truth (John 14.6).
What God thinks on a subject or person should be everything to us. He reveals His way, His will, and even His feelings on a vast amount of subjects. We find this in the Word of God (Bible). Some of these subjects sting. Some of these passages pinch more than just a little. Why? Because God is God and I am not. He is perfect and I am not. He is holy and I am not. He is eternal and I am still in this temporal flesh. So when He reveals Himself, He also reveals us. He reveals us for who we really are. We see His ability and the futility of our own. This should make us adore Him and honor Him more. Shouldn’t it? Instead there is an element within us that punches back… pride.
The opposite is humility. This subject all by itself is a powerhouse of truth for you and me. It is always relevant. It is the defining element of the disciples walk with God. We know we are supposed to be humble because God is opposed, even suppresses, the proud but gives grace to the humble. We know this because in James 4.6 God tells us so through James— “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” We know we want God’s grace and we know we need it, but why is God so focused with our humility?
Read not His opinion, but His truth on this matter in Isaiah 66.1-2— “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
God through Isaiah sheds some light for us to reason with. We are to be humble because we should never forget exactly who God is, what He has done, and what He is capable of. God has everything, and is over everything. Why? Because He made everything. He made the earth, heavens, and universe. He made all of the people—good or bad. He allowed the people groups of the world to form. He established kingdoms and nations. He made everything! Ponder on that for a bit. What does this do to our view of how powerful we are? Humbling isn’t it?
God is awesome… and I am not. Yet, He cares about you and me. He cares about the growth we have in Him, or the wandering we live away from Him. Our humility is our own recognition of who He is compared to I am. Humility gives me the right perspective of God. Humility allows me to see Him correctly in relation to me. Pride on the other hand is spiritual death. Pride ruins my ability to recognize anything spiritually accurate. Without much effort we naturally grow more and more prideful. Conversely humility is not natural to us at all. Pride gives an inflated view of me. Humility sees me as God sees me—with reality.
When we act proud, our estimation of our own abilities become skewed. This is when we forget about God’s abilities. Our focus has to be on God and His ability, not ours. When we inflate ourselves with pride, a very serious loss occurs… closeness with God. Or as He said here in Isaiah 66— “…him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” That’s the person God will show Himself powerful and personal towards. This is the person who has learned to stay dependent on Him, because they have learned just how dependent they really are. The humility let the air out of the faux bubble they have built for themselves.
Humility is good for us because it brings glory to Him. Who’s ability are you depending on? Want more of Him? Then be humble— “…poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”