Humility
by Sean CarrattGod has always told His people to be humble. It has always been necessary that God's people be humble, otherwise, He would not listen to their cries
(2 Chr. 7:14, 34:27). But when Christ came to the earth, what did He find? He found people boasting and bragging that they were God's elect. We must be careful not to do that. Rather, we should follow that perfect example that was given to us, which is Christ.
What was the mindset of Christ? It was that of a servant...
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself; and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8). Christ was the perfect example of humility.
When Christ's disciples argued about who would be the greatest in the kingdom (as though it were an earthly kingdom), Christ taught them a powerful lesson in just a few words.
"If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all" (Mark 9:35). At another time, He taught them again, saying,
"And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:27-28). Christ taught us that, if we desire to be great in the kingdom of God, we must humble ourselves. And since He is the King of the kingdom, it was only right that He take the lowest, most humble position on earth.
Humility is a rarity. But of all the people in the world, we -- Christians -- should be the most humble. That means that we have to serve others. The great example of service is Christ. Remember when Christ washed the feet of the disciples? Now this was the Great King. How often do we hear of kings, presidents, or world leaders humbly serving their people? The same great humility and servant-hood that was shown by Christ should be abundant in our lives as well.
