“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Romans 12:3 ESV
Why is humility hard in a society that glorifies self interest? Strange question to ask, I know, but it is a real question that we should think about. When we put that question out there we need to think about how freely people can give their opinion, can speak up without thinking about what they are saying will affect others, not even aware of who could possibly be affected by what is been said or done. It can be copied and repeated over and over again. Sometimes it is the most innocuous things but in certain contexts it shows a complete unawareness of what others are experiencing because people are so focused on themselves.
Humility is not about weakness but having strength that does not invoke fear or a challenge. It is about trust and awareness. Humility can change a situation in an instant because the focus is not on the success, or self grandizement but an honouring of each person in the moment. We see this displayed with Jesus as He is interacting with people from different social standings, such as with the incident when a woman was brought before Him and the leaders said she was caught in adultery. Jesus was patient, did not rush into an answer or judgement, in fact He did the unexpected, He turned the tables on the on lookers and made them judge themselves. They didn’t end up judging the woman or Jesus.
We see this over and over throughout the Gospels. Jesus acts with humility. He does not act out of weakness or fear. Jesus acts trusting in the innate justice that God created to be present in this world and calls his people to live by. Jesus is not swayed by fear or anger but lives by truth and justice. Living humbly is rooted more in trusting God than in trusting in our own abilities to change the outcome. While living with humility can seem far fetched in a society that gives opportunities to glorify people, it is really a coming back to early stages of creation when we walked humbly with God.
