Humility and Humiliation

Many a time while reading the Word, God impresses upon me how contrary He is to the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20) and my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). One such passage that jumped out at me these past weeks talks about pride and humility. It seems to me that these words have taken on very different definitions in our present culture of individualism and self-love. Yet we need to refocus our perspectives, shed the old man for the new. Here is my thoughts and reflections on this verse.

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall beabased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)

Christ firstly speaks of the person who "shall exalt himself." The word exalt, Hupsoo, is related to the word altitude and has the idea of height. According to Strongs, to exalt is to lift up to the heights. The man or woman who lifts up themselves is filled with pride. They are guilty of self-exaltation. They promote themselves and promotes their own agenda. They are full of their own importance. Two prime examples from the Word are Satan and Nebuchadnezzar.

Lets take a quick look at the story of Satan's fall in Isaiah 14:12-15. Notice all the "I will’s"?

I will ascend into heaven… (vs.13)
I will exalt my throne… (vs.13)
I will sit also upon the mount… (vs.13)
I will ascend above the heights… (vs.14)
I will be like the most High."  (vs.14)

In his pride, he exalted himself. Only what he wanted was important. Nothing else mattered.

Another example is Nebuchadnezzar. He walks in his palace in Babylon and says, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30). Again, his thoughts are totally filled with himself and his accomplishments.

These may be extreme examples, allowing us to remove ourselves from the picture saying, "I do not have that kind of pride; I know that all glory belongs to the Lord." In the New Testament letters Paul brings it home when describing his fellow labourers, "For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's" (Philippians 2:21). Thankfully, he does give Timothy as an exception so their is hope yet can we think ourselves 'naturally' better than the general rule of the apostolic age? If most of Paul's companions selfishly sought their own good above the cause of Jesus Christ, how can we think ourselves any better. Look at the greed, selfishness and pride of the modern church - We speak against others in order to exalt ourselves: we respond in anger when someone else is given an honor we think we should have received: we compare, criticize and contend with others who are also serving the Lord: we are quick to judge others yet glacially slow in judging ourselves. It is time to judge the pride in our own hearts.

In the next part of the this verse Jesus teaches us that the man who exalts himself will be abased. The word abase, Tapeinoo, comes from the root word, Tapeinos (commonly translated as base) meaning not rising far from the ground. To abase means to lower or bring down to the bottom. Colloquially we use the word humiliation. The second half of the verse will use the word humility but what's the difference?

Humility is self-abasement and it is primarily done before God. Humiliation is divine-abasement and it is done before all. One who is humiliated suffers what many Asian cultures refer to as losing face - a serious situation indeed. He is shamed before all.It is important to note that humiliation is a direct result of haughtiness. He is brought down to the ground because he lifted himself up. Other scriptures support this dichotomy:

Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. (Job 40:11)

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

God's wisdom is so different to that of the world's. If we exalt ourselves, God will bring us down. Self-promotion is not God’s way and those exalting themselves cannot accomplish His will. 

In the second contrasting section of this verse, Jesus talks about the man "that shall humble himself." Humility is found first of all in the way we think of ourselves and others. A humble man thinks of God and others first and himself last. He carries the burdens of others but he does not expect anyone else to carry his burden (Galatians 6:2,5). He expects not to be ministered unto, but to minister to others (Matthew 20:28) The man who humbles himself "shall be exalted". Self-exaltation comes before divine-abasement. But divine-exaltation is the result of self-abasement. This is further supported in other scriptural passages;

The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility. (Proverbs 15:33)

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:10)

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1Peter 5:6)

What glory to be exalted by God! Why would you seek the glory and praise of man when you can have the eternal glory of God? What is a moment of glory in this world compared to the riches available in Christ? Biblical humility is the opposite of selfishness; it is selflessness. It is not a hatred or embarrassment of self, which are both still focused on self. It is a removing of self from conscious thought. It is a life so lost in pleasing God that there is no time and no need to please self. Pleasing God brings full satisfaction beyond anything this selfish world can offer. Christian humility is a losing of self in God and in others. God and His will is our focus. This is the servant’s heart. This is the disciple’s calling. 

"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). 

Please pray with me that this may ever be so in our lives. 

I hope this has been of some encouragement to you and has wet your appetite to seek out God's Word for all that pertains unto life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

Looking forward to our lovely blushing bride-to-be's post next week :)