Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
James 4:8-10
One of the best-selling books of the 1970s was titled “Looking Out for Number One” and encouraged people to put themselves ahead of everything else. It’s not surprising that was a best-seller because we are naturally inclined to pride. The world tells us to promote ourselves and make sure people know how great we are. God’s design is different. Rather than lifting up ourselves, we are to follow the example of Jesus: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7).
Unlike us Jesus actually deserved all the praise and glory both Heaven and Earth could offer. Yet He still willingly laid all of that aside to accomplish God’s plan for our salvation. The way for us to obtain the grace that we need to live as Jesus did is to humble ourselves. “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). The only true source of promotion in things that matter is God.
Charles Spurgeon said, “If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus, you do not know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you but the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son. As Jesus stooped for you, bow in humility at His feet. A realization of Christ’s amazing love has a greater tendency to humble us than even a consciousness of our own guilt. Pride cannot live beneath the cross. Let us sit there and learn our lesson. Then let us rise and carry it into practice.”
