Are we Humble? [A Discursive Monologue]

Hopefully, you will not find this homily abstruse. A frank way of starting therefore is to look at Jeremiah 17:9:

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

It is scientifically thought that though the brain and the heart are located far apart in the body, they are intrinsically connected and have a significant functional impact on each other. Perhaps we all should take an Implicit Association Test (IAT) – subjects ranging from disability to race, etc. Maybe the outcome could connect with the biblical verse above. We just do not know ourselves!

What is our motive for being critical [2 Timothy 4:14; 3 John:9-11; Numbers 12; 2 Timothy 3:7-8; Numbers 16:1]? Do we think it will make us popular? Why are we Christians [Romans 5:8; Matthew 28:18 – 20; Romans 12: 1-2]? Are we even Christians [Matthew 7:21 -23]? How do we understand the Will of God [2 Peter 1:5-11]?

How do we understand Humility – what is it? I know an individual with special needs that habitually ends his greetings with, “I hope you do not think too highly of yourself” [Romans 12:3]. A synthesis of Philippians 2 and the first 11 verses of 2 Peter 1 forms the crux of this monologue and should reveal the state of our hearts. We should please, not fall for Satan’s reminder of Grace [Ephesians 2:8-9] but link this to 2 Peter 1:5. How about Romans 6:1-7?

Faith [Hebrews 11:1]: Are we confident through prayer and petition that God’s people who are spiritually entrusted to us can do great things for Him in his kingdom here on earth [the church], or are we averse to corrections by the ‘laity’ [Galatians 2:11]? How do we react when our errors are pointed out to us [Numbers 12:3; 13]? Do we beg God, like Moses, to forgive and heal our critics, or do we wish for them to leave the church [Luke 15: 4-7]? Should followers go the ways of Miriam and Aaron, Jannes and Jambres, Alexander the metalworker, Diotrephes, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On, etc? For the ‘laity’, which is a demonstration of faith – introducing secular antidotes to spiritual ailments or resorting to God-centred prayers [Jeremiah 32:27; James 5:17; Daniel 10:11-13]? How is our spiritual stamina [praying consistently on our own, with family, with a brother/sister and in groups] – do we even consistently fast [Psalm 69:10] for the health of the church?

Goodness [Galatians 6:9-10]: Are we selective when it comes to those we show goodness to [James 2:8-9]? Note the 10th verse of Galatians 6: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Do we know the condition of our flock? Do we 'wash' our followers' feet [John 13]? Do we make the work of our leaders a nightmare [Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13- 17; Romans 13:1-5] or a joy?

Knowledge [Ecclesiastes 1:18; Titus 3:9; 1 Corinthians 8:1; James 2:19; James 1:23-24]: Do we trade scriptures? The latter part of the first verse of 1 Corinthians 8 is apt: “… But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” Do we judge and ignore contemporary ‘Bezalels’ and ‘Oholiabs’ in our midst whereas we all could benefit from their skills, which God has blessed them with [Exodus 35: 30-35]? Are we playing God instead - wanting to control everything?

Self-control [Ephesians 5: 3-6]: How do we communicate with one another [respectfully - 1Timothy 5:1-2]? Are we boastful and arrogant in our communications [1 Peter 5:5-6] and are we deserving of respect [Titus 2:2]?

Perseverance [Hebrews 10:36]: Are we self-seeking, looking to be acknowledged and respected in church? Rather than assume the attitude of Lazarus [Luke 16:19-31] and imitate the heart of the widow [Luke 21:1-4], we would rather have our reward here on earth [Luke 20:46]. Are we even deserving of emulation [James 3:1; 1 Timothy 1:7]?

Godliness [1 Timothy 6:6-7]: How content are we? How do we approach issues – do we ‘marginalize’, ‘ostracize’, ‘isolate’, ‘judge’ and ‘stigmatize’ others when they ‘challenge’ us? Do we use our position of authority to shut them down? Are we empathic, sensitive, sympathetic, kind, compassionate and emotionally generous to those entrusted to us spiritually?

Brotherly/sisterly kindness [Luke 3:11; James 2:15-17]: Can we lay down our lives for our brothers/sisters-in-Christ [John 15:13]?

Love [1 Corinthians 13:1-4]: Are we patient, kind and humble, or are we insecure, envious, proud, boastful, and disrespectful? Are we quick to get angry, are we selfish, and vengeful? Are we secretly happy when our brothers/sisters experience a set-back in their lives? Do we show fake care towards the disadvantaged because it is an outlet for us to have our ego massaged [we would rather be ‘superior’], or do we genuinely rejoice with people who are experiencing God’s upliftment in their lives? Do we ignore friendly, brotherly, and godly messages asking for a spiritual collaboration, or would we rather ‘control’ the process [Romans 15:14]? Do we rejoice with the truth? How protective of our leaders are we? How protective of their flock are the leaders? If we believe that we all have the same Spirit [Philippians 2:2], then why should we not trust one another – why the scrutiny? Do we not have hope for one another? Why are we so quick to judge [Matthew 7:1; Luke 18: 9-14; 1 Peter 5:2]?

Humility [Philippians 2] So far, would we say we are doing the will of God? Are we encouraged by the fact that we are united with Christ? Are we comfortable that Jesus loves us? Do we truly believe that we share the same Spirit? Are we tender and compassionate towards one another? Do we strive to make Christ’s joy in us to be complete? Then we must be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. We should be careful not to do things out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility we should consider others better than ourselves, not looking only to our own interests but the interests of others. Can we boldly say this is where we are at? Are we working out our salvation with fear and trembling? Or are we busy grumbling, complaining, and arguing? Have we become so ungodly in our approaches that our leaders no longer rely on us? And when they try to raise the young ones in our midst [who are willing to be taught and led] are we resistant and rebellious? It has nothing to do with how long we have been Christians [Matthew 20: 1–16] or how long we have been married and how long we have been parents. Which leader will trust us if all we look out for are our own interests, rather than those of Jesus Christ? And we become jealous when the young ones born before our own very eyes are being trained to lead us! But the young ones are proving themselves, serving with the leaders in the work of the gospel. Why do we find it difficult to entrust ourselves to God [1 Peter 4:19]? Rather than fuss over recognition, why can we not evangelize our neighbourhoods [Mark 9:38-40]? We should not be deterred or discouraged if [the] leadership [body] believes in central control – understandably, it serves its organizational purposes. We go on our knees and continue to pray for God to open doors to places never imagined before – this is the power of FAITH and belief. Let us pray ceaselessly [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18] for God to frustrate the schemes of Satan in our individual, family, and church lives. If Satan could enter Judas an apostle [Luke 22:3] and compromise Peter the rock [Matthew 16:23], who are we to stop him if we wage wars like the world does [2 Corinthians 10:4-5]?

Conclusion I have been around long enough [30 years as a disciple of Christ in January 2022] to observe, not ‘judge’, that I am yet to stumble on a ‘Moses’, whom God describes as the most humble man on the face of the earth. We revel in implicit bias, rooted in pride, but God disciplines us in various ways. He loves us so much and would do anything to break that terrible, hindering and destructive disease in us called PRIDE [James 4:6]!

Are we humble? We should be careful that our hearts do not deceive us! We are no longer on speaking terms with others because we prayed like David but got cut off mid-way with a lie excuse. Feeling superior because of the colour of our skin, even when we made a couple of attempts to ensure Satan was not given the glory – our calls and text messages were ignored! We find it hard to rejoice with others and our altruism only gives us self-assurance that we are better than others [contrary to Philippians 2: 3]. We serve in various capacities in the church but fail to relate with the laity – it is not showmanship but living for Jesus. It is being narrated that our ‘mistreatment’ of others has affected their mental health; we need not be involved in gossip to have an idea of what goes on. It is also thought that many have left because of the ways we handled matters. And what have we done about this [Mark 9:42; Romans 14:13; Matthew 5:23]?

Inasmuch as it would ‘break’ our hearts to see anyone put out of fellowship, should it be overwhelmingly established that there are individuals amongst us who are divisive and contaminating the faith of others [Jeremiah 23:1] because of their pride, arrogance and selfishness [and boasting], Titus 3:10 should be invoked – this is biblical.

We end with two scriptures that penetrated our impressionable souls back in the day when we were neophytes:

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

Philippians 3:13 “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Merry Christmas!