Humble before the Lord

Sep 22

Written By Amanda Windham

“Therefore submit 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. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

— James 4:7-10

When someone’s mistakes are under the microscope of today’s media, it’s so easy for us as Christians to look at the apparent sins wrecking their lives and the lives and feel superior. Maybe we’re not as rich, successful, attractive, or famous as them, but at least we aren’t sinning like them. Then we go to church or call a friend, and enjoy pointing fingers or poking fun at how bad the world has gotten for us good people. We need to take a moment to think about where these ideas are coming from and how they affect us.

Submitting to God and resisting the devil doesn’t just involve repenting from visible sins. The invisible pet sins we don’t realize we’re holding onto out of fear, anger, or pride can be dangerous weapons in the devil’s arsenal once hardship and stress have worn away at our self-control so that we slip and let our flaws peek through. Whether it’s gossip, resentment, prejudice, or impatience with others’ faults, whatever we’re holding onto inside will come out eventually. If we’ve truly surrendered our whole hearts to God, problems will still cause us pain, and we will make mistakes, but ultimately what comes out of us will be godly (Luke 6:45). On the other hand, pride in our opinions and ways of doing things, anger and intolerance toward the lost, and a lack of concern for the consequences of expressing ourselves are danger signals that our heart’s loyalty is divided (Philippians 2:3-5).

Caring about what is going on in the world and doing something about it is undoubtedly an essential part of how Christians live. Our responsibility to make godly choices includes everything from how we spend our free time and money, how we’re involved in social and political issues, what entertainment we enjoy, what relationships and jobs we choose, and how we dress. But the combination of free will and an endless variation of personalities, experiences, and cultures throughout the world and throughout the ages means that two people can both be sincere, legitimate Christians, and disagree entirely on all of those choices we just mentioned. Each of those parts of a Christian’s life has scriptures to guide us, but our wise Father knew that our diversity could be a struggle for us, so He cautioned us to preserve Church unity (Romans 12:3-5, Romans 15:1-6). People today, including Christians, are speaking and acting out of fear for the future and frustration over what isn’t as it should be. But God is in control, and He has a plan for the good of us all (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28). God did not call us to make disciples for worldly leaders, parties, or organizations to make sure society doesn’t fly off the rails. We already have our hands full with our work for the kingdom of God. To accomplish any good, we must ensure we’re following Christ by guarding our hearts and tongues and working for the souls’ well-being whose lives we touch (Matthew 6:24).

Jesus warned His followers that “with what judgment you judge, you will be judged … And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye” (Matthew 7:1-5). Later in Matthew 15:2 when the Pharisees questioned Him about His failure to follow all of their human-made traditions, Jesus told said, “‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” Most Jews at the time admired the Pharisees for how religious they were. Jesus’ conflicts with them usually centered around the fact that the Pharisees were more focused on their selfish interests than listening to and understanding God and their fellow men. We can see one example of this in Luke 18:9-14, where Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector’s prayers. The Pharisee listed all his impressive good works and pointed out the tax collector’s mistakes. Jesus didn’t deny that what the Pharisee said was true. Instead, He focused on commending the tax collector’s humility and condemning the Pharisee’s self-righteousness (Matthew 18:14). We don’t want to fall into the same patterns of thinking as the Pharisees, so what should we do?

Jesus taught His disciples about this. In Matthew 19:14, He said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” When Jesus told His disciples that we have to humble ourselves and become like children to be a part of His kingdom, He wasn’t referring to their immaturity and tendency to quarrel. Jesus taught about a child’s teachable, tender, and trusting heart (Matthew 18:1-4). Children who are afraid during the night often crawl into bed with their parents. There’s nothing inherently safer about their parents’ bed, but being close to the people who love them most helps a child realize everything will be alright so they can go back to sleep. Drawing closer to God by surrendering everything to Him can do the same for us. In James 4:10, God gives us the solution to the spiritual wounds caused by our divided hearts. First, we have to recognize and repent from any pet sins and divided loyalties that prevent our hearts from wholly belonging to God. Then we cast all our cares on Him, and concentrate our efforts on keeping our hearts, churches, and homes grounded in Christ, and let Him be in charge (1 Peter 5:5-11).

If you want to change the world, you can’t do it by echoing what everyone else is doing and saying. Instead of telling others what opinions they should have, and what choices to make, how much more good could we accomplish by pointing people toward the Biblical principles that help us form our decisions? If you try to expose the sins behind the problems we’re facing with labels, loyalties, and arguments that have more to do with your little part of this world than God’s kingdom, you’re in danger of blending in so thoroughly with today’s chaos and darkness that your efforts will be as pointless as the blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14). While fighting the evils of society is essential, all our problems have their roots in this world’s sinful nature, so the Christian’s glory and defense are from God (Psalm 18:1-2, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

When the world is loud, proud, closed-minded, and aggressive, be different. Be gentle, willing to listen, loving, and humble. Sometimes, what this lost world needs isn’t merely the witty words of humans or the physical strength of brave men and women, however wise or noble they may be. Blows from fists or harsh words don’t save souls or change hearts. We need God’s words. If we want to see a difference, we have to lay out the foundation of God's word and God's Church in love and humility and build from there together, or, like the house built on sand, whatever we build will fall (Matthew 7:24-27). Sometimes we need to be still and remember the God we serve and let Him shine. Let His words be the light in the darkness (Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 5:16, 1 John 2:15-17).