Philippians 2: 3 – 8: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
I have been thinking about this passage of scripture a lot this week, ever since we watched last Sunday’s sermon by John Dickson. He talked about how the concept of humility prior to Christ had been twisted into something to be scorned, but once He offered Himself in the ultimate display of humility through His crucifixion, the cultural shift began. Living the cruciform life means to live a life of humility, and to be able to do that, we need to understand what it actually means to live a humble life.
My tendency is to think of humble people as those people who don’t ever want to be recognized for what they do, but he explained that it was the exact opposite. Dickson said that to be able to fully realize humility, you need to have the self-confidence to understand what your skills are to then turn around and use those abilities for the benefit of others. Like Paul writes, “…in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Not to be arrogant in your abilities, but secure in them. I like that concept, because sometimes when I think about doing an “assessment” of what I’m good at, it feels a little uncomfortable. But if I reframe it to think about identifying my strengths AND thinking about how to use them to benefit others, I feel empowered.
It makes me think of one of my college professors – he was highly intelligent and had tremendous expertise as it related to communication, but he never made you feel like he considered himself “the smartest person in the room”. Instead, he used his abilities to help his students grow and realize their strengths. Humility is instantly recognizable, and as John Dickson explained, makes “great people greater”.
The other point that hit home for me is that humility is persuasive. As a former Rhetoric professor, I love this idea. I have taught Aristotle’s three elements of persuasion – logos, pathos, and ethos – countless times, and while logos (reasoning) and pathos (emotional appeal) are easy to understand, ethos can be a little challenging. Defined as “character”, it can be difficult to put into concrete language. But if you think about ethos as including humility, it makes complete sense, especially in a Christian context. If we communicate with humility…not acting superior, understanding how much more there is to know, looking out for the interests of others…THAT is persuasive. (Makes me want to get back in front of my rhetoric and debate classes and add a supplemental lecture!)
As we head into the presidential election season, as we listen to sermons on Sunday, as we listen to our boss share their vision, as we communicate to our kids, as we lead Bible studies, as we talk to our neighbors, in everything that we do, we communicate whether or not we have the mindset of Jesus…”valuing others above ourselves…taking the very nature of a servant…humbling himself”. We communicate whether we believe their needs are more important than ours.
Am I there yet? Absolutely not. I don’t think any of us will ever live a perfect life of humility. But as I have been praying for God to “open my eyes so I can see” what I need to learn, I feel overwhelmingly convicted to pursue a life of humility. To make conscious decisions to use my skills and abilities to serve others…to understand better what those abilities are…to put others first…to speak with humility rather than arrogance…to have the mindset of Christ.
This is just my reflection on John Dickson’s sermon…want to hear the entire thing? Click here!
Happy Sunday…
