Joy and Humility

Sometimes we interact with people in church like we are playing a game of Aggravation. Have you ever been involved in a heated game of Aggravation? The goal of the game is to get all four of your pawns around the board by rolling the dice and sending opposing players back “home” where they started, by landing on spaces they occupy. Since only one player can come away as the winner, alliances are formed and friends become enemies. There is no place for kindness, civility, or humility in a game like Aggravation. Ultimately, every player hopes to come out on top using every means at his or her disposal. As you can imagine, the game can turn intense and become quite aggravating! Certainly this is not what Jesus had in mind for His church when He prayed for her unity and her testimony that would magnify God’s love (John 17:10-11, 22-23).

Similarly, the Apostle Paul has something very different in mind for the church than the jostling for position and attention, resulting in tension that characterizes so many churches and their reputations to a world looking on. As Paul continues his lengthy, run-on sentence that spans verses one through four, his emphasis shifts from unity (Phil 2:1-2) to humility (Phil 2:3-4). Here is how Paul connects the two themes:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Unity is established and kept by keeping Christ first and others next. Someone once shared the simple, but memorable and accurate acrostic - J.O.Y. - that is particularly fitting in this text. It could be said that the secret to joy is Jesus, Others, and You, and prioritizing them in that order. If pride could simply be defined as being overly preoccupied with yourself, humility is being concerned with the reputation and well-being of others - both the glory of God and the good of one’s neighbor. It is a demonstration of our love for God and fellow man (Matt 22:34-40). It is the wellspring of great joy, while its counterparts - pride and envy - are joy’s constant thieves. So, how come humility is so elusive? Why is it easier to fake than genuinely and consistently evidence its character? What can we learn from this text that might give us greater success in being and practicing humility?

To help us grow in humility it is essential to understand that its root must be firmly planted in a proper mindset of grace, for we are what we are only by God’s grace (1 Cor 15:10). Paul reminded the Galatians, “... if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal 6:3). That is a powerful statement in today’s culture - a culture that is sin-affirming and telling us we are all “good” people. Yet, according to God’s Word, we are nothing without God’s unmerited favor. As a matter of fact, it could be said that we are less than nothing, for “all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory” (Rom 3:23, CEV). Pride reigns and rules in our heart and directs our every decision.

And this is where the wonder of grace steps in and captures our amazement. For when we were “by nature children of wrath” and “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1-3), God made us alive (Eph 2:4-5) and rescued us by taking our punishment and exchanging our sin for His righteousness through the atoning work of Christ on the cross (2 Cor 5:21). It’s a gift, undeserved and unearned! It is also incredibly humbling, isn’t it?

Rightly, Andrew Murray in his book Humility: The Beauty of Holiness, “It is necessary to understand that it is not sin that humbles most, but grace.” As disciples of Jesus, we embrace the rescue and new life that is ours through Jesus' substitutionary death on the cross. We mourn the fact that, practically, we still have so far to go. And, we accept and appreciate how far we have already come, and that God is ultimately going to complete His work in us. Appreciating God’s amazing grace that has brought us safe thus far and that will lead us home, should aid us in mutually submitting to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and encourage us in humbly interacting with those outside of the church.

As you enter this day and the week to follow, consider from where you have been rescued, how far God has brought you, and how far you still need to go. For each of us, our pilgrimage still has a few twists and turns and God is not finished with us yet. However, He has promised that He will finish what He started (Phil 1:6)! He has also placed you in a relational network. Look around you. Consider those that lead you, those that are your peers, or those that follow your leadership. How can you humbly consider them more significant than yourself? How can you serve their needs so they might come to know or continue to grow in Christ (2 Cor 4:5)?

James 4:6-10 (ESV) - “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”