A Humble Man

I remember watching Indiana Jones going over a riddle in his head in his quest to save his father with the Holy Grail. The riddle stated that “a humble man kneels before God.” Well, our pal Indy figured out that this simple act of penitence would prevent him from losing his head. But what about in this thing we call “real life?” How easy is it for us to be humble?

When many people look at the thought of being humble, they think that it means they have to be turned into doormats; a truly humble person gets walked on and doesn’t fight back. The world’s view on humbleness is that it is synonymous with being spineless. God’s view is a bit different.

Jesus came to Earth to show us God’s love as it should be lived out in our daily lives. He was an example of a humble man who stood for nearly everything the Jewish faith had forgotten and discarded. Jesus was constantly being challenged by religious authorities, but He never once backed down. He simply painted a picture of how God’s way was not only the wiser and simpler course, but the more practical one. He rarely told them outright they were wrong, He instead showed them what was right through illustration. He challenged their intellects. He met them on their level. And all the while He was humble. Even at His trial He would not condemn them. Even as they beat Him, He stood humbly for God.

Jesus is a wonderful example of what it is to be humble, but we humans seem to need constant reminders of what being humble is. I’m sure any one of us can think of a time when we screwed up and were humbled when it was pointed out to us. Humans don’t like to be wrong. “I’m right, and if you agree with me, then so are you.” This mentality is not what God is looking for, and He will remind us that He is right, and we need to believe in Him because He is bigger than everything.

There is a great example of God reminding a mere human that He is God and he is not. It is found in the Book of Job. Job has been having a rough time. His friends have been counseling him to do what they believe God wants him to do, and Job has been debating and arguing with them. As Job is sitting in a pile of ashes, covered with boils, God shows up and gives Job a little reality check. As my friend Katie put it, “God gets sarcastic.”

God begins to question Job, “Were you there when I separated the land from the water? Can you call lightning across the sky? Can you talk to a whale?” (Job 38-41)  God isn’t doing this to make Job feel stupid. God is showing His friend Job that no matter what his problems are, God is there and God is bigger than those problems. If Job humbles himself before God and has faith that God is bigger than his problems, then he will find comfort.

The next time you run into a major problem where your pride is getting in the way, take a moment and remember God’s conversation with Job. Swallow your pride, be humble, and take God’s hand and He will lead you. Remember that no matter how big your  problem might seem, God is bigger than that problem, and while a prideful man thinks he can solve anything by himself, a humble man kneels before God.