One of first things I did when I started my research was look to the best source I had, the bible. I remembered the verse "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (NIV Matt 23:12, Luke 14:11, Luke 18:14). A fascinating observation of this verse is the context given in each occasion.
- Matthew 23:12, the context is Jesus speaking to "the crowds and to his disciples" (NIV v.1) about how the teachers of the law and Pharisees are prideful in that "everything they do is done for men to see" (NIV v.5).
- Luke 14:11, Jesus is at a prominent Pharisee's house on the Sabbath. Jesus speaks of a parable that "when someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor...take the lowest place" (NIV v.8,10)
- Luke 18:14, Jesus tells "some were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else," (NIV v.9) a parable referring to a Pharisee that prayed for himself and a tax collector that "stood in the distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said 'God have mercy on me, a sinner'" (NIV v.13)
Either Jesus said these words three times, or said them once and the writer used them in different context to summarize his point. Regardless, my point is not to judge its usage, but to view the context within. I think these three different occurrences make a great point of where to be humble. I categorize them as: Humble in Public, Humble in Private, Humble before God. Explanations to come.
1 comment:
First off- good title. Always coming back to the word is key. I like how you have categorized it into three areas of humility -public, private, and with the Lord.
What I always try to strive for myself though is that perfect balance of humility and confidence. I came to reflect on this quite a bit when I was in Sweden- a culture that struggles with confidence and (from what I saw with my personal friends)strives for more of it. While on the other hand, it seems that myself, a North American, was working on how to become more humble. Not to say that these are polar opposites, in fact, I came to realize that it was blending them together that was my struggle... I quickly learned that I need to strive for both, and my prayer has now become asking God for the wisdom in when to be more openly confident and when do be more humble. When I refer to being "confident" and being "humble" I obviously have subjective views on what the defintition of these are. But to me, most of the time I simply associate it with when I should speak up and when I should be quiet and listen.
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