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“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)Let me get this straight. If I consider myself lowly, a servant of others, put others' needs before my own, and let go of my pride then God will make me important and above others? I cannot possibly have that right because if I did, the humility would be a false humility so as to acquire the new status, right? That cracks me up. It's like saying, "if you make sure you really, really don't want X (i.e. a baby), then God will give you one." In order to get what you want, you need to not want it. That just seems silly. I must have it wrong. Lemme see what the commentary has to say.
Mmm... interesting. The IVP commentary made reference to humility in regards to when others treat you poorly. The point they made was that when we refuse to retaliate and refuse to allow anger and hatred toward people who quite frankly deserve it based upon their unjust treatment of us (or someone we love, or a cause we are passionate about) then God will lift us up by His grace to a place where we can love these very same people. We find ourselves in a place where it is possible to "love our enemies."
While this makes a lot more sense, it certainly doesn't seem any easier. Especially when, for me, my need for humility has a lot more to do with my treatment of people I do love, let alone people I hate! I guess my standards are a little lower than James'. I would feel victorious if I could refrain from the biting sarcasm with which I reply to most of David's utterances, or the complaining I do in my head about my close friends when they fail to function exactly like me. If I master these aspects of my pride and self-centeredness, maybe I will be ready to deal with the really nasty people in my life. Maybe... just maybe...
3 comments:
I don't think I agree with the IVP commentary, since James does not tell us to be humble in dealing with others, he tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord. I understand that phrase as meaning that we need to acknowledge that before the Lord we really are insignificant. Any significance which we have is derived solely from the value which God places in us.
As such, lack of humility is failing to recognize God's rightful place over us and if we do not accept him as our true master (instead of ourselves) then he cannot and will not raise us above our lowly position of insignificance.
He makes us significant (i.e. raises us up) only after we accept our utter insignificance (i.e. humble ourselves be him). It has nothing to do with our standing among men, merely recognizing our rightful place beneath God, alongside every other human.
Ti - I like your take on this so much better - it makes so much more sense. The commentary really did seem to completely miss "before the Lord" and didn't even bring it up. Seems to be a pretty important part of the verse when you consider your interpretation. I really appreciate this added insight. Thanks for commenting.
It seems this is one area God has been trying to work on in my own life and change my natural mindset (or should I say, sin nature?). If pride really is the root of all sin, I've got a long way to go to loving my enemies and neighbors alike!
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