Hello and welcome back to Cultivating Growth. I want to thank everyone for joining us this week. As always, Jeremy and I are here together and we're going to discuss today, growing in humility. We're going to talk about what the Bible has to say about being humble, but how we increase in that, how we grow in our humility.

As we strive to be more like Christ in all of the ways that we act and interact with one another. So with that, let's get right to it. 

Well, John, when we think about the idea of humility, I mean, it really is something throughout the extent of scripture. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament talk extensively about humility and the attitude of being humble as something that God demands of His people. Not just says that it's a good idea or, you know, it's, you know, it's wise to operate this way.

He demands the attitude of humility from His people. And so when we start to think about humility, I think in a lot of ways, sometimes it's, it's one of those words that, you know, if you were to ask, Hey, do you know what being humble is or what humility is? You know, everybody would say, sure, you know, absolutely.

I know what humility is all about. But if you were to just kind of straight define it, you know, it kind of becomes, you know, kind of an odd way, you know, to, to think about. And I think sometimes the easiest way to try to put a definition on something like humility is to think about what it isn't or the opposite of it in a lot of ways.

And I think that really brings us to why it is that God Spend so much time talking about humility because it really is the one thing that pushes pride and selfishness away And those are those are really the things that you know seems to be, you know One of if not man's greatest issue on the bad attitude side is pride and selfishness Yeah, I mean we Time and time again, pride is seen as something that is extremely dangerous for us.

It's destructive. It leads to us falling or failing or thinking too highly of oneself. It's destructive. And so the contrast that God brings to our mind is that of proud, being proud and being humble. Those are the two contrasts that he wants us to consider. And, you know, I was thinking about this also from the perspective of, you know, how do you define Humility, and I came across a Psalm that doesn't use the word humble, but I think it does a really good job of kind of painting a picture of what humility is.

And it's really short. It's only three verses, Psalm 131.  And it says, Lord, my heart is not haughty nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forever. It's a psalm of David, very short, very brief. But what I love about that psalm is he recognizes that I can't concern myself With matters that are too great for me, and there are things that are too profound for me. And those are the things that only God understands.

And I think sometimes, especially as Americans, that's an off putting thought. Because in our minds there is nothing too great for us. There is nothing too profound for us. We are on the cutting edge of everything. Our understanding exceeds all others. And so this idea of remembering that God is on a whole different level than we are.

And there are things in this world that are just simply too profound for me. They're simply too great for me. And when I remind myself of that, it keeps me humble because I'm reminded of just how great God is. And I think when we do that. We, we grow in our humility, but when we forget to do that, that's when our pride begins to grow and we begin to put ourselves in the place that only God should occupy.

Yeah, I think there's a question that when we think about humility, it really starts with, you know, having that understanding of what my place is. Certainly in reference to God, you know, what, what my place is. And when we start to elevate ourself. to, to God or even in the vicinity of God as man is apt to do, we are losing sight of what humility is all about.

I mean, there's another passage in Romans chapter 12 where humility, the word is not used, you know, kind of in the same, you know, vein of where you just were in the Psalms. But in Romans chapter 12 and verse 3, you know, Paul is talking to the brethren there and he's, he's talking to them about the way that they think.

And he says, you know, Not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think soberly. Now, soberly is used there. You know, certainly humility is the idea, not because we are apt to think more highly than we are. And that's when we start to get into God's territory, and I think that's where you get into  You know, the important passages like Philippians chapter 2, where, you know, Paul brings up Jesus and he says, you know, Jesus He even humbled himself as he left heaven came to earth as a man even by obedience He humbled himself and that's not saying for Jesus.

It's not saying that He is less God in any capacity, but yet he had that, carried that attitude of understanding of the Father versus where he is. And you see that in the garden, you know, with Jesus and his prayers of not your, not my will, but your will be done. And those things that, you know, if Jesus is able to, you know, make a choice and, and growing in his humility, you know, more certainly it's important for us.

Yeah. And we see that throughout Jesus's life, even in his teaching, most certainly, but in his actions as well, he, he reminds us that he didn't come to serve, to be served, but to serve. And he demonstrates that as he kneels down to wash the feet of his disciples, or as he takes time to heal those who are sick and suffering, and even at times neglecting face time with the higher ups in society.

And instead, prioritizing spending time with those who others would view as beneath him. But he didn't view them as beneath him. Nobody was beneath Jesus. He was there for everybody. And it's that mentality that I think we're called to embody ourselves.  I want to be humble in that there is no one beneath me. 

I am, I am not, no matter what state of life I may possess, no one is beneath me. We are all created in God's image, and if we ever think too highly of ourselves, we need to remember Jesus in the example that he set. And remember that I, I need to be growing to be more like Him. And Jesus was a man of great humility, even as the Son of God.

He left Heaven, came down to Earth, and humbled Himself to be a servant to those around Him. And if that's the way He's going to conduct Himself, that's a perfect example of how I should as well. Yeah, I mean, in a lot of ways, humility is a dependence issue. I mean, it comes down to, you know, having that understanding that I need growth.

God completely  or I don't need God completely and that, you know, that comes and so when we grow in our humility and we start to understand our dependence upon him, it as is always the case,  it is to our benefit. Yeah, when we are able to acknowledge that, you know, in a passage that comes to mind that does make mention of the word humble or humility, but it is two verses.

It's one sentence with two verses. And I think sometimes we miss the second verse and the end of the sentence. But I think it moves  us to understand that God is he's demanding of This of us, but yet it is for our benefit. And so in first Peter chapter five and verse six, a passes that, you know, a lot of people will be familiar with therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.

That's in verse six. And you know, that sounds great. You know, a humble under the mighty hand of God that he's going to exalt us. But it is verse seven, the same sentence, the same sentence, casting all your cares upon him for he cares for you. And so, you know, that is showcasing that I am that dependent upon God, that I can lay on him whatever I have to lay on him.

And he is mighty enough And I'm willing to do that because of my humility. Yeah, dependency is another important word in this. And, you know, it's a, it's another word and concept that, uh, sometimes we're not super fond of. We like to be independent. Uh, that's our nature as, certainly as Americans. We are independent.

We can handle things ourselves. We don't need anybody else's help. We can do it. And, and that is. counter to what God wants us to be, we are to be dependent upon him and dependent upon each other. We, we are given each other as, uh, as people who can help us grow in our relationship, help us through this life, help us manage temptations and difficulties that we may face.

We need each other. We need to be dependent upon one another. We ultimately need to be dependent upon God. And to circle back to where we started, if pride begins to creep in, that's the mentality and that's the mindset that says, I can do all of this myself. I don't need you. And that isn't much of a further step to go to say, I don't need God.

And that's really where pride and humility come in conflict with one another. They truly are mutually exclusive because of this dependency conundrum that we can find ourselves in. Are we willing to admit that we need. Others and that we need God and that we are dependent upon him  or are we going to try to maintain the mindset that I can do all of this myself and that's obviously where the danger arises because we can't and we're doomed to fail if that's our mindset.

You know, sometimes we think about, you know, how do I grow in this?  How do I better myself when it comes to humility? And I think sometimes we miss some of the easiest answers to questions like that. And I think here, one of the easiest answers when we're trying to grow in our humility, or we're trying to increase our dependence upon God, is just the easy choice of, give it a try.

Pick, you know, pick something, you know, pick something in your life that's big, pick something, you know, in your life that's worrisome or that you're anxious about, just find, pick something, and then give that to God, step away from it, and see what kind of difference that it makes. And, and I think that, you know, if we can do that with maybe even something small,  That we'll see that I could do that with things that are medium.

I can do that with things that are big. I can then do that with all of these things. And so if we kind of start that process, sometimes that really is the easiest way for us to kind of, you know, grow in these areas. Yeah, I think, I think you're exactly right. And maybe then to just build on that, I would, I would say also consider the language that we use.

When talking about ourselves, when talking about accomplishments, when talking about abilities, you know, certainly God has given us wonderful abilities and accomplishments are not to be neglected in any way, but consider how we speak about ourselves.  Are we constantly putting ourselves on a pedestal of some sort?

Are we, are we constantly. Building ourselves up to other people in the way that we talk and communicate. Are we always bringing ourselves into conversation with other people? You know, just give some thought to that. And to your point, just, just try, just try, uh, removing yourself from the spotlight in conversation.

And again, there's nothing wrong with. Acknowledging successes and that can be an important aspect of, of growing in your, your life. But, but just try removing yourself from the spotlight once or twice in conversation and see how that feels. And that's a step in the right direction in growing in humility.

Yeah. Well, I mean, two good ways that we can start to implement humility and growing in that area in our life. Let's close with the passage. It'll close with a promise. Uh, the small verse in James Shepherd 4,  really, God makes two promises here that we need to be cognizant of. And so in James Shepherd 4 and verse 6, uh, you have the beginning of that, that God, He gives more grace, uh, therefore, He says, and here are two promises that He makes.

God resists the proud. That's one promise. But also gives grace to the humble, and that's something that we need to consider. 

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