Biblical Humility
Friday- 05.13.2016
I hope you have been enjoying our Sunday morning series in the book of Daniel. Last Sunday, I preached from the story of the writing on the wall. In this story, I pointed out three things that brought about King Belshazzar's fall. These were:
I would like to spend a little time with the first point today. Humility is in short supply in our world today- and biblical humility is even more scarce. What do I mean by biblical humility?
Biblical humility is not low self-esteem. Do you remember how the book of Daniel began? Daniel is writing his story and the Babylonians invaded Israel. Nebuchadnezzar decides to gather the most handsome, most intelligent, and able-bodied young men in Israel. This included Daniel- the author! Biblical humility properly assesses one's strengths and weakness. Your strengths do not make you better than someone else, rather your strengths are recognized as coming from your heavenly Father. They are a gift- a gift to be given back to the one who gave them.
Biblical humility is not a lack of ambition. The stories of Daniel repeatedly tell us how Daniel and his friends moved 'up' in the king's service. We also see how they used these positions to serve and through serving they gave the glory to God.
Biblical humility is about serving others. Think about Paul's words in Philippians 2, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Humility looks to the needs of others.
These are powerful words. We see the life of a servant in Daniel, but I think Daniel would tell us it was all about his Lord. In the life of Jesus, we see this servanthood lived out in love and holiness.
In closing, I'd like to boil this down into one simple statement (I heard this somewhere, but I can't remember where!). Biblical humility is the proper understanding of who we are and whose we are. When we know who we are (how God has gifted us and wants to use us) then we can be used for His service.
May you recognize that God has gifted you and may you return this gift to your Father.
- A lack of humility
- Sacrilege (using sacred vessels at a party)
- Idolatry (drinking to the gods)
I would like to spend a little time with the first point today. Humility is in short supply in our world today- and biblical humility is even more scarce. What do I mean by biblical humility?
Biblical humility is not low self-esteem. Do you remember how the book of Daniel began? Daniel is writing his story and the Babylonians invaded Israel. Nebuchadnezzar decides to gather the most handsome, most intelligent, and able-bodied young men in Israel. This included Daniel- the author! Biblical humility properly assesses one's strengths and weakness. Your strengths do not make you better than someone else, rather your strengths are recognized as coming from your heavenly Father. They are a gift- a gift to be given back to the one who gave them.
Biblical humility is not a lack of ambition. The stories of Daniel repeatedly tell us how Daniel and his friends moved 'up' in the king's service. We also see how they used these positions to serve and through serving they gave the glory to God.
Biblical humility is about serving others. Think about Paul's words in Philippians 2, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Humility looks to the needs of others.
These are powerful words. We see the life of a servant in Daniel, but I think Daniel would tell us it was all about his Lord. In the life of Jesus, we see this servanthood lived out in love and holiness.
In closing, I'd like to boil this down into one simple statement (I heard this somewhere, but I can't remember where!). Biblical humility is the proper understanding of who we are and whose we are. When we know who we are (how God has gifted us and wants to use us) then we can be used for His service.
May you recognize that God has gifted you and may you return this gift to your Father.