The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott & John MacArthur

Author:Stuart Scott & John MacArthur
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Religion, Spirituality
ISBN: 9781885904317
Publisher: Focus Publishing
Published: 2000-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Attribute of Humility

If pride is the epidemic vice, then humility is the endangered virtue. Humility is so rare because it is unnatural to man. Only a Christian who has the spirit of God can learn humility. The more we learn humility, the more our lives will change. Just as pride is the root of every evil, humility is the root of every virtue.

There are several Old Testament terms translated humility or humble. Mostly they refer to the action of bowing low or crouching down. This is what we should do in our hearts. In the New Testament, there are two words used, one meaning servile, base or groveling and the other meaning gentle, meek or yielding. These attitudes were very negative concepts in the Greek culture, but Christ revealed them to be virtues.

Our Greatest Example

Of all the biblical examples of humility, the greatest by far is the example of Christ Himself. Christ’s very coming to earth was an amazing act of humility. Try to imagine what Christ had in heaven—glory, honor, pure worship and majesty. Then read in Philippians how He humbled Himself:

Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men… He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:6-8

Jesus described himself as “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29, KJV). Certainly, He knew when to be firm and when to rebuke others for God’s glory (Matthew 23), but He was truly humble of heart. While Christ was here on earth, He was in complete submission to the Father’s will, even though He Himself was God (John 4:34; 8:28-29). He was devoted to glorifying God (John 17:1, 4). Christ became the servant of men and taught His disciples to do the same (John 13:3-17):

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45

Jesus’ perspective is very different from the thinking people often have. In our society, the first or the one who is lifted up is the greatest. According to Jesus, however, the least is the greatest. The humblest person is the greatest person of all (Mark 10: 43-44). This means that the proud person is last in God’s eyes. Jesus’ life is just the opposite of what is valued today. God’s Word tells us that we must have the perspective of Christ, rather than that of the world (Romans 12:2).

One of Christ’s greatest displays of humility was, of course, His act of washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17). Though He was God, He wrapped the servant’s towel around His waist and cleaned the dirt and perspiration off men’s feet. You would think that one could not get any lower than that. And yet, Christ’s most amazing demonstration of humility and service was the suffering and death He endured on behalf of sinners like you and me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.