Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

The Queen Of Virtues: HumilityAmong the essential components of godly characterhumility ranks near the top. "What doth the Lord requireof thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walkhumbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8).In order to be clear as to the meaning, we find this asa dictionary paraphrase: To be "humble" in the favorablesense is to have or show a consciousness of one's defectsor shortcomings; not proud, not self-assertive. In anunfavorable light, to be "humble" is to show an almostabject lack of self-respect. Thus we takeit there is a falsehumility, a perversion of the true virtue.There are several ways of approach to this topic; forthis article we have chosen the Biblical approach. Whatdoes the Word reveal concerning humility?Rev. Waldo MitchelPastor of Walton, New York R. P. Churchgaining honor for one's self.For one thing, humility is a duty, an obligation, forthe Christian. We are commanded to be humble,to cultivate humility. Peter was addressing members of thechurch, the flock of God, when he wrote: "Be clothedwith humility. . . .Humble yourselves therefore under themighty hand of God" (I Peter 5:5,6). Similarly Paul wroteto believers: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, . .. . humbleness of mind" (Col. 3:12).The fact that in the Bible such commands aredirected to Christians shows that this is a God-implantedand Spirit-nutured virtue. By nature man is nothumble; quite the opposite. We cannot cultivate humilityof ourselves, by simply telling ourselves to be humble, tobehave that way. One must first experience regeneration.The Holy Spirit must have created a clean heart withinhim (Psalm 51:10). He must have knelt at the foot of thecross and surrendered his whole heart to Christ. Then theHoly Spirit will live within one's heart and will develop thisChristian grace as well as the others.God works with men, He governs and shapes theirexperiences, in order to bring forth in them humility. Thisis part of His purpose in His "works of providence."Moses, who knew more of the meaning of humility thanmost men, spoke to Israel after their forty years in thewilderness. He said: "Thou shalt remember all the waywhich the Lord. . .led thee. . .to humble thee. . " Then hespecified what he meant: "He. . . suffered thee to hunger,and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neitherdid thy fathers know" (Deut. 8:2,3). First, He allowedthem to suffer hunger to remind them of their frailty andmortality, then He sent manna, the source and nature ofwhich they could not understand, except thatit came fromGod. All this was designed to teach them the wisdom,greatness, and all-sufficiency of God in order that theymight humble themselves before Him. Can we not recallsome of our experiences over the years that were designedby God to teach us humility? How well have we learnedHis lessons?Humility in the Bible is often presented as a necessaryqualification for honor. More than once in Proverbs weread: "Before honor is humility" (15:33). When Christ'sdisciples were seeking greatness in the kingdom He calleda child and set him before them and said: "Whosoever...shall humble himself as this little child, the same isgreatest in the kingdom.. ." (Matt. 18:4). At another timeHe declared: "He that shall humble himself shaft" beexalted"(Matt. 23:12). "Humble yourselves in the sight ofthe Lord and he shalllift you up" (James 4:10). It becomesclear doesit not, that the way to true greatness and honoris downward, the downward way of humility? Butit mustbe a genuine humility, nothing pretended, no scheme forWhen men sin, especially by pride, they shall beforcibly humbled by God. "Pride goeth before destruction..." (Prov. 16:18). "The mighty man shall be humbled,and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled" (Isa. 5:15)."The haughty shall be humbled" (10:33). Proud, arrogantmen may go on for a long time pursuing and achievingtheir ends. Yet at length, unless they repent, God willhumble them, either by providence or on the Day ofJudgment.On the other hand, God promises mercy to thehumble. "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him alsothat is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spiritof the humble" (Isa. 57:15). Examples of divine mercy tothe humble are seen in Biblical records of Josiah (n Kings22:19,20); Solomon, as a young and God-fearing man (IIChron. 7:14); Hezekiah (II Chron. 32:26); and Manasseh(II Chron. 33:12,13). James sums it up thus: "Godresisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."(4:6).How do we measure up in the practice of humility?This is not a popular trait in our time. Ii we follow thepattern of many, we shall not excel in humility, nor evenstrive for that. Do we accept responsibility in the churchwith grace? Are we willing to do the nitty-gritty work on acommittee, or in personal evangelism, even when we hadhoped to be chosen to office, or at least become chairman?Are we willing to do the humble tasks within theparish rather than write for publication (!) or serve on aboard of committee of Synod? (Not that these may not beperformed humbly if one is called to them). The testcomes to us all: Shall we, or shall we not, seek great thingfor ourselves?In closing I wish to recall the final sentence of atribute to a former minister of the Church. "He did notforsake the truth to gain favor with men or to gain a higherposition, for he knew there was no higher position than tobe a worker together with Christ."6 COVENANTER WITNESS