Submitted by Pastor Richard Boettner, Rock Port Baptist Church

What a wonderful summer we are enjoying in Atchison County! This week we are working on Vacation Bible School in Rock Port, and the week this will be in the paper is the Atchison County Fair. The 4th of July celebrations were especially meaningful for many families and well supported. In it all, I am reminded to seek God and focus on Him as I pursue His calling in my life. Thanks be to God!

For this article I am going to write some on the topic of humility. Christian character should be taught and modeled by all believers. We can attain these virtues by the power of the Holy Spirit and pursuing good and godly relationships.

As we consider humility it is helpful to remember that humility is best understood when I have a correct perspective and understanding of who God is, and why pride (as an opposite of humility) will not really help me experience God or serve others effectively in the real world in which we all live.

I also learn to live by God’s grace, which He gives freely when I live in Christ, and not by my own merits or accomplishments. As a key Scripture passage consider 1 Peter 5:5,6: “All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time.”

In managing a natural (but not spiritual) tendency towards pride, we can also consider Romans 12:3:   “For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.”

To summarize:

1) Learning humility comes when we “think sensibly” and “not more highly than I should think.” It practically means that I seek God for His favor/grace to work on my responsibilities and care for the needs of others. It helps me avoid boasting about my own accomplishments, but rather give God thanks and appreciate the accomplishments and service of other people.

2) Humility directs me to “the mighty hand of God” who bestows grace based on the measure of faith He has already given me. God is not just a spectator in my life, but strong to enable me to accomplish His will with dignity and purpose. My prayers are heard and answered as I trust Him and see Him work in and through me.

3) Humility allows me to look forward to God’s reward and blessing who will “exalt me at the proper time.” It means that some service may go unnoticed or unappreciated by people, as my earthly life is temporary at best. Humility allows me to rejoice that service will be seen and eventually honored by God in eternity, which is really His best timing anyway.

4) Humility is patterned after the example of Jesus, who left His divine glory to become human like us, and gave Himself to suffer on the cross so that we could receive forgiveness and know God again. Philippians 2:8,9 describes the humility and exaltation of Christ: “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name.”

Thanks for reading and studying with me for the OTSS column. May we all “clothe ourselves with humility” as a way of life and see God enhance our service and relationships with others. Please feel free to contact me with any comments or questions at rockportbaptistchurch.com.