| Humble Yourself By Rev. Mark E. Vatcher “Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.” Proverbs 3:34 |
Let me start by sharing a story I read that helped me humble myself. I reflect back
on it when I feel pride overcoming me. As far as I know the story is true, some of the
details may have changed over the years, but basically it’s a story about an event that
really happened.
Many years ago, a lady in an old looking dress and her husband, dressed in a
slightly worn out looking suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly without
an appointment into the president’s outer office at Harvard University. The secretary
could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard
and probably did not even deserve to be in Cambridge let alone Harvard. She frowned.
"We want to see the president," the man said. "He’ll be busy all day," the secretary
snapped. "We’ll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping
that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They did not. And the
secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. "Maybe if they just
see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave," she pleaded to him. And he sighed in
exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance did not have the time to spend
with them, but he detested country hicks cluttering up his outer office. The president,
stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, "We had a son
that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a
year ago, he was killed in an accident. And my husband and I would like to erect a
memorial to him, somewhere on campus." The president was not touched; he was
shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can’t put up a statue for every person who
attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the
lady explained quickly, "We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to
have a building built for Harvard." The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the
gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any
earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars
worth of buildings at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was
pleased. He could get rid of them now. Then the lady turned to her husband and said
quietly, "Is that all it costs to build a university? Why don’t we just start our own?" Her
husband nodded. The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment as the
couple thanked him and walked away. Soon they were in California establishing a
university as a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about, Leland Stanford, Jr.
The president of Harvard learned the hard way not to judge the worth of a person by
what appears on the surface. Humility is a great gift. The scriptures time and time again
relate how God loves the humble. From (Zephaniah), "Seek the Lord, all you humble of
the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility;" and "I will leave as a
remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of
the Lord: the remnant of Israel." And from (Psalm 146) "The Lord lifts up those who are
bowed down. “From (Corinthians) "Think of what you were when you were called. Not
many of you were wise, not many influential, and surely not many well-born. God chose
the absurd to shame the wise; he singled out the weak to shame the strong. He chose
the lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who
were something.” Finally, from (Matthew)’s account of the Sermon on the Mount:
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." God does not judge a person’s
worth by external appearances. God does not judge a person by surface or extraneous
things like clothes, accent, skin color, the length of one’s hair, or the thickness of one’s
wallet. Neither does God judge a person by the success they have achieved in this world.
The scripture tells how God reaches out with love and healing and blessings to the poor,
the oppressed, the hungry, the blind, strangers, orphans, widows, the weak, the
despised, the sorrowing, and the persecuted. Jesus illustrated this with his whole life,
befriending tax collectors, prostitutes, beggars, Romans, fishermen, Samaritans. God
judges us. He uses a different standard than that of this world. And while we do not
judge outright [only God does that] we do judge each other which I must say is not an
ultimate judgment but a physical and material judgment. It is necessary to make good
decisions in our lives. It’s up to us to hold up the standard God expresses through the
scriptures. Let’s look to the scriptures and try to detect God’s standard. First,
(Zephaniah) "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek
justice," and "They shall do no wrong and speak no lies." From the (Psalm) "The Lord
loves the just, ... but the way of the wicked he thwarts." And to all those low-life’s in
Corinth, Paul says, "God it is who has given you life in Christ Jesus. He is our wisdom,
our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption." In other words, "When you were
called, you were nothing, but by accepting that call you have become holy, set apart by
God to do His good works on earth." Finally, in the Sermon on the Mount, it is not just
the poor and meek whom are blessed, but also the merciful, the pure in heart, and the
peacemakers. And it is not those who are persecuted for any old reason that are blessed,
but those who are persecuted for the sake of holiness, and because of Jesus. It is not
those who go along to get along, but those who stand up for Jesus who are told, "Be glad
and rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great." So God does have standards. And so
must we. Ours is not an "anything goes" religion. "But," you say, "Is not God infinitely
merciful? Does not He forgive us all our sins?" Yes, He is, and yes, He does. But being a
Christian does not mean being baptized and then going on living like it does not matter.
Being a Christian means giving our life to God and letting Him control it. It means living
according to His will, not our own. Now, we are never going to succeed completely. That’s
where forgiveness comes in. But we at least have to try! That’s the standard. You at least
have to try.
When we read scriptures like those I quoted today, some of us come away with the
message that God is an inclusive God who embraces all manner of rabble. Some will
think from this that God has a preference for the poor. Others will come away with the
message that God is a holy God who embraces the pure in heart and is fire on evil-doers.
Both are true. Neither by itself is complete. This is a complex message, this Gospel of
ours. If we are a success in this life, we must worry that maybe we have compromised
too much. If we are proud of our accomplishments, perhaps we have not humbled
ourselves sufficiently to God: "Let him, who would boast, boast in the LORD." If we are
among the dregs of society and, because of it, are bitter and unhappy and resentful,
perhaps we have not succumbed to the mercy and grace and joy which God pours out
upon the likes of us, but persist in shutting Him out with our stubborn pride. If we
persist in what we know to be sinful ways, if we ignore the call to holiness, if we seldom
attend church, if we’re always too busy to pray or read the scriptures or go to a service
or visit the sick or perform works of mercy, then perhaps we have committed too little to
Christ. Perhaps, in our pride, we have refused to humble ourselves to God. Becoming a
Christian is more than undergoing a ritual. It’s more than identifying with a
denomination. It’s more than membership in a church. It’s more than being a "good
person." Being a Christian is nothing less than humbling ourselves before God, putting
God at the very center of our lives, putting ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
asking about every decision "What would Jesus do?" and making those decisions as if
they mattered, because they do. This is not subjecting us to a life of misery, boredom,
and deprivation. It is rather opening us up to a life of joy and peace and happiness.
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness. They shall have their fill." Jesus
told us that he came that we might have life, and have it abundantly.
Let us examine our consciences, confess our sins to God, and receive forgiveness,
Gods forgiveness of all our past sins. Let us at this time, in humility, commit to reform
our lives, put Jesus in the drivers seat, and become among the pure in heart who will
see God. Then let us leave renewed in the Spirit, reborn to a life of service to God and
God’s people. You belong to God. Will you give yourself to Him? Do it now, completely and
without reservation. The joy of the life of grace awaits you brethren.
Sermon Scripture References: Ps 146: 6-10, Zep 2:3, 3:12-13, 1 Cor 1:26-31, Matt 5:1-12, Pr 3:34
on it when I feel pride overcoming me. As far as I know the story is true, some of the
details may have changed over the years, but basically it’s a story about an event that
really happened.
Many years ago, a lady in an old looking dress and her husband, dressed in a
slightly worn out looking suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly without
an appointment into the president’s outer office at Harvard University. The secretary
could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard
and probably did not even deserve to be in Cambridge let alone Harvard. She frowned.
"We want to see the president," the man said. "He’ll be busy all day," the secretary
snapped. "We’ll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping
that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They did not. And the
secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. "Maybe if they just
see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave," she pleaded to him. And he sighed in
exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance did not have the time to spend
with them, but he detested country hicks cluttering up his outer office. The president,
stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, "We had a son
that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a
year ago, he was killed in an accident. And my husband and I would like to erect a
memorial to him, somewhere on campus." The president was not touched; he was
shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can’t put up a statue for every person who
attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the
lady explained quickly, "We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to
have a building built for Harvard." The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the
gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any
earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars
worth of buildings at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was
pleased. He could get rid of them now. Then the lady turned to her husband and said
quietly, "Is that all it costs to build a university? Why don’t we just start our own?" Her
husband nodded. The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment as the
couple thanked him and walked away. Soon they were in California establishing a
university as a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about, Leland Stanford, Jr.
The president of Harvard learned the hard way not to judge the worth of a person by
what appears on the surface. Humility is a great gift. The scriptures time and time again
relate how God loves the humble. From (Zephaniah), "Seek the Lord, all you humble of
the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility;" and "I will leave as a
remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of
the Lord: the remnant of Israel." And from (Psalm 146) "The Lord lifts up those who are
bowed down. “From (Corinthians) "Think of what you were when you were called. Not
many of you were wise, not many influential, and surely not many well-born. God chose
the absurd to shame the wise; he singled out the weak to shame the strong. He chose
the lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who
were something.” Finally, from (Matthew)’s account of the Sermon on the Mount:
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." God does not judge a person’s
worth by external appearances. God does not judge a person by surface or extraneous
things like clothes, accent, skin color, the length of one’s hair, or the thickness of one’s
wallet. Neither does God judge a person by the success they have achieved in this world.
The scripture tells how God reaches out with love and healing and blessings to the poor,
the oppressed, the hungry, the blind, strangers, orphans, widows, the weak, the
despised, the sorrowing, and the persecuted. Jesus illustrated this with his whole life,
befriending tax collectors, prostitutes, beggars, Romans, fishermen, Samaritans. God
judges us. He uses a different standard than that of this world. And while we do not
judge outright [only God does that] we do judge each other which I must say is not an
ultimate judgment but a physical and material judgment. It is necessary to make good
decisions in our lives. It’s up to us to hold up the standard God expresses through the
scriptures. Let’s look to the scriptures and try to detect God’s standard. First,
(Zephaniah) "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek
justice," and "They shall do no wrong and speak no lies." From the (Psalm) "The Lord
loves the just, ... but the way of the wicked he thwarts." And to all those low-life’s in
Corinth, Paul says, "God it is who has given you life in Christ Jesus. He is our wisdom,
our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption." In other words, "When you were
called, you were nothing, but by accepting that call you have become holy, set apart by
God to do His good works on earth." Finally, in the Sermon on the Mount, it is not just
the poor and meek whom are blessed, but also the merciful, the pure in heart, and the
peacemakers. And it is not those who are persecuted for any old reason that are blessed,
but those who are persecuted for the sake of holiness, and because of Jesus. It is not
those who go along to get along, but those who stand up for Jesus who are told, "Be glad
and rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great." So God does have standards. And so
must we. Ours is not an "anything goes" religion. "But," you say, "Is not God infinitely
merciful? Does not He forgive us all our sins?" Yes, He is, and yes, He does. But being a
Christian does not mean being baptized and then going on living like it does not matter.
Being a Christian means giving our life to God and letting Him control it. It means living
according to His will, not our own. Now, we are never going to succeed completely. That’s
where forgiveness comes in. But we at least have to try! That’s the standard. You at least
have to try.
When we read scriptures like those I quoted today, some of us come away with the
message that God is an inclusive God who embraces all manner of rabble. Some will
think from this that God has a preference for the poor. Others will come away with the
message that God is a holy God who embraces the pure in heart and is fire on evil-doers.
Both are true. Neither by itself is complete. This is a complex message, this Gospel of
ours. If we are a success in this life, we must worry that maybe we have compromised
too much. If we are proud of our accomplishments, perhaps we have not humbled
ourselves sufficiently to God: "Let him, who would boast, boast in the LORD." If we are
among the dregs of society and, because of it, are bitter and unhappy and resentful,
perhaps we have not succumbed to the mercy and grace and joy which God pours out
upon the likes of us, but persist in shutting Him out with our stubborn pride. If we
persist in what we know to be sinful ways, if we ignore the call to holiness, if we seldom
attend church, if we’re always too busy to pray or read the scriptures or go to a service
or visit the sick or perform works of mercy, then perhaps we have committed too little to
Christ. Perhaps, in our pride, we have refused to humble ourselves to God. Becoming a
Christian is more than undergoing a ritual. It’s more than identifying with a
denomination. It’s more than membership in a church. It’s more than being a "good
person." Being a Christian is nothing less than humbling ourselves before God, putting
God at the very center of our lives, putting ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
asking about every decision "What would Jesus do?" and making those decisions as if
they mattered, because they do. This is not subjecting us to a life of misery, boredom,
and deprivation. It is rather opening us up to a life of joy and peace and happiness.
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness. They shall have their fill." Jesus
told us that he came that we might have life, and have it abundantly.
Let us examine our consciences, confess our sins to God, and receive forgiveness,
Gods forgiveness of all our past sins. Let us at this time, in humility, commit to reform
our lives, put Jesus in the drivers seat, and become among the pure in heart who will
see God. Then let us leave renewed in the Spirit, reborn to a life of service to God and
God’s people. You belong to God. Will you give yourself to Him? Do it now, completely and
without reservation. The joy of the life of grace awaits you brethren.
Sermon Scripture References: Ps 146: 6-10, Zep 2:3, 3:12-13, 1 Cor 1:26-31, Matt 5:1-12, Pr 3:34
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