Embrace Humility

Philip. 2:^7-8 “But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; a servant in form and a man indeed. The very likeness of humanity, He humbled Himself, obedient to death— a merciless death on the cross!” (Voice)

Adopting Jesus’ model in Philippians 2, we see that firstly, humility flows when we defer to our peers and our subordinates. Secondly, humility flows when give up our privileges. Thirdly, Humility Flows When We Take A Lower Position. While it is good to give up our privileges, however, sometimes people only give up their privileges because they have seen a ‘seat’ in front that they want to go for. Not because they really want to give up their seat, but because they want to get an advantage. Such people want to win both ways; they want to be seen as giving up their privileges, meanwhile they have ulterior motives on how to get ahead. Phil. 2:⁷ “…he took the humble position of a slave…” Not only did He give up His privileges, but Jesus also took the humble position of a slave. Jesus did not have to be born; did you know that? Adam was not born.

Jesus did not have to die; Enoch did not die; Elijah did not die. Jesus did not have to be ridiculed and beaten. Peter proposed that Jesus should call down one battalion of angels and wipe out the mob that had come for Him at Gethsemane. This gives us a sneak peek into the resources that Jesus had at His disposal. Jesus did not have to suffer; He said, “no one takes My life from Me, I am laying down my life by myself”. Jesus took a lower position deliberately. Every time you take a lower position deliberately because you are yielding to the Spirit of God, you are setting yourself up for undeniable and unstoppable promotion – every single time!

A classic example is, you show up early for a special service because you want to get a seat in the auditorium. As usual, the auditorium fills up very fast. Then from a distance, you spot ushers trying to find a seat for a new guest. You have a choice, you could just close your eyes and focus on Jesus claiming you do not want to be distracted after all you came to worship, right? Or you could give up your privilege, the seat you came early to secure, and beckon on the ushers to seat the guest there. That is good and it is commendable, but it is not enough. What Jesus models for us is, He took it one step further. Not only did He give up His seat, but He also took the place of a servant. This means that if that guest brought a child, you would offer to help them take the child to the children’s church. That is serving, that is taking the position of a servant, and your promotion will be inevitable. There is no way heaven will not recognize that.

Humility Flows When We Choose To Be Vulnerable. Phil. 2:⁷ “…and was born as a human being.” You can read this and miss what God is showing us. Jesus was God, He did not come down as an angel, that would have been huge humility. He became a human; frail, vulnerable, carried around by a young mother who probably did not know how to take care of a child – vulnerable. A lot of people do not advance in their relationships because they do not want to be vulnerable.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank You for modelling true humility. Help me daily to defer to my peers, give up my privileges, take a lower position and be vulnerable, in Jesus Name. Amen!