{"id":269,"date":"2019-08-31T17:43:43","date_gmt":"2019-08-31T17:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/?p=269"},"modified":"2019-08-31T17:43:43","modified_gmt":"2019-08-31T17:43:43","slug":"humility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/2019\/08\/31\/humility\/","title":{"rendered":"Humility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is one of those words that, when I hear it, I tend to\nnod my head in understanding. I know what it is and how important it is for us\nto have it as a trait. At least I thought I did\u2026 but as with most things, there\nis always <strong>a depth to understanding that I have not yet reached<\/strong>.&nbsp; We all know that we need to be humble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For some strange reason, I want the directive to be humble\nto come like other \u201ccommands\u201d that are simply implicit; \u201cDo this because I said\nso,\u201d and the reason for the command is left for us to figure out. Here\u2019s an\neasy one\u2026 \u201cThou shalt not steal.\u201d It is a simple command to understand and\nfollow. What if I don\u2019t steal? And why should I not steal? These questions are reasonably\n<strong>answered with a bit of logic and empathy<\/strong>. But, the directive, as I\u2019ve called\nit, to be humble, is not a direct command from God. You won\u2019t find in Exodus\n20, \u201cThou shalt exhibitith humility;\u201d I guess that is why I am calling it a\ndirective. Humility is not really a command. It is just a good idea. Or is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>For\nthrough the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more\nhighly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound\njudgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. &nbsp;(Romans 12:3)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>You\nyounger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe\nyourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD,\nBUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty\nhand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, (1Peter 5:5-6)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These two scriptures are structured as commands, just not\ndirectly from God. They are also only a small selection of example passages\nthat tell us to be humble, either implicitly or explicitly. The second one\nanswers the question \u201c<strong>What if I do humble myself?<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 that is \u201cGod will\nexalt me at the proper time.\u201d Now, that is something to look forward to! Scriptures\nconfirm this again in Philippians 2 using Christ as the example who exhibited\nhumility and was exalted by God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Being\nfound in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming <strong>obedient to the\npoint of death<\/strong>, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly\nexalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, (Philippians\n2:8-9)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;What about the other\nquestion: \u201cWhy should I be humble?\u201d&nbsp; What\ngood does it do, for me, or for others? I I hope that I start to answer that\nfor you and me both in the remainder of this letter. Here is a scripture for us\nto think on with respect to that question \u2013 a seed that hopefully will grow\ninto some understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Treat\nothers the same way you want them to treat you. &nbsp;(Luke 6:31)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An attitude of humility will make this <strong>Command from God<\/strong>\nmuch easier to obey. Humility will make our whole submission to God much\neasier. I am thinking that a soft heart is indicative of humility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, what exactly is humility? I think there are various types\nof humility, <strong>all of which benefit us when employed.<\/strong> Here are some types\nthat I think stand out and categorizing them will maybe help us recognize them (or\nthe lack of them) in ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Personal or social humility: This is how <strong>we tend to\nconstruct an image of ourselves<\/strong> that others perceive. Surely, we all know\nsomeone who works at projecting an outward image of himself in order to impress\nothers. I don\u2019t need to look very far to find that person. Indeed, the mirror\nis undoubtedly the best place for me to search! There are at least 4 selfs, or\nidentities, that we all have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The true self.&nbsp;\nThis self is so private and personal that sometimes we forget: this is\nour heart, into which <strong>God sees and will judge<\/strong>.<\/li><li>The private self. This self is the one that we\nshow only to those who are closest to us, like our spouse, closest friends, and\nmaybe siblings.<\/li><li>The semi-private self is who we are around our\nfriends and the people we trust<\/li><li>The public self is the image we project to\neveryone else.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Certainly, this delineation is only for illustrative\npurposes; actually, the different levels of true identity that we expose are a\ngradient \u2013 just as our levels of trust in others vary. I think the ultimate\ngoal, our striving for <strong>perfect humility, is when we only ever have one self<\/strong>,\nor identity. Where can we find an example of perfection to model? Once again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Being\nfound in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the\npoint of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Intellectual humility: Years of experience working,\nlearning, or even merely living, give us an opportunity to feel like an expert\nof sorts and <strong>rid ourselves of humility<\/strong>. &nbsp;It makes sense. With experience, I can\nanticipate an outcome of a situation and act accordingly. This earned confidence\ncan easily lead me to <strong>focus on what I can bring to the situation<\/strong>. But, intellectual\nhumility is me entering every situation with the mindset that there is something\nhere for me to learn and grow from. The advice here is to keep your experience\nand wisdom close to you, but put it behind you. In front of you, and even\ncloser, keep a curiosity.&nbsp; Always know\nthat <strong>you have more to learn and always be on the lookout for those things\nthat can fill in the gaps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8216;Who\nis this that hides counsel without knowledge?&#8217; &#8220;Therefore I have declared\nthat which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not\nknow.&#8221; (Job 42:3)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Theological or Spiritual humility: &nbsp;This is really an extension of intellectual\nhumility but applies to <strong>understanding our walk with God<\/strong> and His ways. It\nis yet another thing we gain experience with over time. We use the experiences\nof studying scripture, meditating, considering thoughts of others, praying, etcetera,\nto make better decisions.&nbsp; We serve\nourselves well by entering into any conversation, study session, sermon, paper,\narticle as if <strong>it were a journey into \u201cwhat can I learn from this?<\/strong>\u201d And\nwe resist the urge to have pre-formed responses. Author and philosopher G.K.\nChesterton, explained his theological journey this way: \u201cIt is not bigotry to\nbe certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might\npossibly have gone wrong.\u201d I remember attending a Bar-Mitzva maybe 6 or 8 years\nbefore I believed there even was a God. The rabbi said in his message, \u201cA wise\nman understands that he can learn something from anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I mentioned above that our great example for humility is\nMessiah Himself.&nbsp; And I have cited Philippians\n2 twice in this paper already, but here comes number three!&nbsp; Read that chapter; the first half is directly\nrelating examples of and encouragement for humility, but the rest has little\ngems of wisdom and examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;<\/em> <em>But\neven if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and\nservice of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. (Philippians 2:17)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christ was obedient even to death. Paul was poured out. What\nabout you? I read this somewhere and think it is worth keeping in mind: \u201c<strong>Humility\nis not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Set\nyour mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians\n3:2)&nbsp; <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace to you and glory to God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">-Nate<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\">www.paraklesis.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is one of those words that, when I hear it, I tend to nod my head in understanding. I know what it is and how important it is for us to have it as a trait. At least I thought I did\u2026 but as with most things, there is always a depth to understanding &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/2019\/08\/31\/humility\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Humility&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}