Humility With One Another

Jesus told His disciples, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).



           I want to continue on today with my 'One Another' blog series and address the issue of humility.  About 15%  of the 'one another' verses in the New Testament stress an attitude of humility and respect among believers.  Humility is a difficult issue to grasp, because as soon as you think you've got it.. you've lost it with a prideful sense of self reliance.  "Pride has a way of distorting how we see ourselves while humility offers a realistic perspective."
          Humbling ourselves is not just about being a servant to others, but includes being humble enough to accept help.  Pride is the biggest deterrent to the helpful hand of another. Why do we hinder God's provisions for our 'real needs' with our limits on how much we will accept from another?  "It may not be easy to be the one on the receiving end—especially if you’ve usually been the first one to help other people. But with humility, we can allow God to gently care for us by a variety of means when we need help."
          From Matthew Henry's commentary on humility, "We must esteem others in lowliness of mind better than ourselves, be severe upon our own faults and charitable in our judgments of others, be quick in observing our own defects and infirmities, but ready to overlook and make favorable allowances for the defects of others. We must esteem the good which is in others above that which is in ourselves; for we best know our own unworthiness and imperfections." 
          As for myself, humility is an everyday reality I have to submit to.  It does get easier with practice but it's never truly easy.  Pride is ever-present when I have to let others help me but I must turn that prideful attitude into one of gratitude.  I must remember there are other ways of doing things, than just 'my' way.  I must think of my helper's needs, not just my own.  I must flip the 'M' in Me, to make it a 'We' state of mind.  
         The greatest act of humility was when God became human and sent His Son to be with us, teach us, suffer for us, die for us and conquer death for us.  He came to serve, not to be served.  "We must walk in the same spirit and in the same steps with the Lord Jesus, who humbled himself to sufferings and death for us; not only to satisfy God’s justice, and pay the price of our redemption, but to set us an example, and that we might follow his steps." Philippians 2:1-11 are verses that call us to imitate Christ's humility... what an example to follow with one another.  May we all be like-minded with the Spirit of Christ.

Proverbs 22:4

"Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life."

James 3:13

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."

Humility with 'one another' verses:

1. Give preference to one another in honor (Ro 12:10)
2. Regard one another as more important than yourselves (Php 2:3)
3. Serve one another (Ga 5:13)
4. Wash one another’s feet (Jn 13:14)
5. Don’t be haughty: be of the same mind (Ro 12:16)
6. Be subject to one another (Ep 5:21)
7. Clothe yourselves in humility toward one another (1 Pe 5:5)