Humility: True Greatness

Encourage others each and every day–nothing’s more important than our words. Did you know that, on average, each of us speaks about twenty-five thousand words daily? My last book didn’t have that many words. A lot of language is flowing out of our mouths every day and having an impact on those around us. But how much of that flow is fulfilling God’s intended purpose for our speech? How much of it reflects pride, rather than a gospel-motivated humility?

Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.

Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him.

only those who are humble can consistently identify evidences of grace in others who need adjustment. It’s something the proud and the self-righteous are incapable of.

Laughter is a divine gift to the human who is humble. A proud man cannot laugh because he must watch his dignity; he cannot give himself over to the rocking and rolling of his belly. But a poor and happy man laughs heartily because he gives no serious attention to his ego.

purpose for every conversation you have, in every personal interaction, is that the person who hears you will receive grace. We

We know the inner call to lay down our lives for one another because He laid down His life for us. What a powerful death! The cross ransoms, the cross liberates, the cross transforms!

Truly edifying words are words that reveal the character and the promises and the activity of God. They're cross-centered words. They're words rooted in and derived from Scripture, words that identify the active presence of God, and words that communicate the evidences of grace that you observe in others. They're words that flow from a humble heart.

What I find especially fascinating and instructive in His next words is that Jesus does not categorically criticize or forbid the desire and ambition to be great. Instead, He clearly redirects that ambition, redefines it, and purifies it: “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (vv. 43–44). We always want to pay careful attention when that word must appears in Scripture. “Must” points us to something that’s required, something that’s indispensable. “You want to be great?” Jesus is saying. “Well, here’s what has to happen. What’s required is that you become a servant to others; it means nothing less than becoming the slave of everyone.

Apart from God, I cannot exist. Apart from me, God does exist. God does not need me in order for Him to be; I do need God in order for me to be.

Gurur sayısız şekle girer ama tek bir sonucu vardır: Kendini yüceltmek. Gururun nihai motivasyonu ve amacı budur: Tanrı’nın yüceliğini çalmak ve kendini yüceltmeyi arzularken O’nunla üstünlük savaşına girmek. Gururlu kişi Tanrı’yı değil kendini yüceltmek ister, böylece Tanrı’yı sadece kendisinin layık olduğu bir şeyden mahrum bırakmaya çalışır. Tanrı’nın gurura karşı çıkmasına şaşırmamalı. Gururdan nefret etmesine şaşırmamalı.

Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That’s the motive and ultimate purpose of pride—to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride. Let that truth sink into your thinking.

De fato, o ensino eficiente envolve explicar aos nossos filhos aquilo que eles já observam em nossa vida. Nunca devemos separar a instrução bíblica do exemplo pessoal.

... autêntica humildade -- um coração mais interessado na glória de Deus do que na nossa, e mais aplicado a servir aos outros do que a nós mesmos. Esta é, de fato, a postura da humildade para a qual Deus olha.

CHARLES SPURGEON once preached on the foolishness of pride, calling it “a groundless thing” and “a brainless thing” as well as “the maddest thing that can exist.”1 But despite the sheer folly and unreasonableness of pride, it manifests its stubborn presence in countless ways within all of us. Even the disciples of Jesus weren’t immune; in fact, they were prime offenders.

Remember that the Person standing there and making this statement is the ultimate example of true greatness Himself. And this is exactly what Jesus goes on to make clear: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (v. 45). In his excellent commentary on this passage, William Lane notes that Jesus is referring to “the reversal of all human ideas of greatness and rank.”2 A profound and historic reversal is taking place here—one that has to occur in each of our lives if we’re to have any possibility of becoming truly great in God’s eyes. It means turning upside down our entrenched, worldly ideas on the definition of greatness.

abide close to the cross, and search the mystery of His wounds