Our text today deals with two areas that many modern Christians have a hard
time with: understanding and embracing humility and the whole area of
submission. James brings these two together in our text and it’s a good
thing. We all have work to do in these areas. But I am confident that the
Spirit is at work in your lives. And this morning He will use the preaching
of the Word so that you might take another step in the right direction when
it comes to both areas. You have good reason to always be optimistic about
such things.
Let’s start by being clear about what the Bible means by humility. There are
many problems here because this quality is not well understood. Too often
people assume that being humble means that you are to think ill of yourself,
that you should think of yourself in lowly, almost demeaning terms. It’s no
wonder that many people react against humility. I hope that it’s obvious
that that isn’t anywhere close to what the Scriptures mean by humility.
Instead, humility is a matter of having an accurate understanding of who you
really are. So, on the one hand, humility stands against making yourself out
to be more than who you really are. But on the other hand, humility also
stands against making yourself out to be less than who you really are.
Let me lay out some general comments about this so that you can get a feel
for how the Scriptures define who you are. Let’s look at one slice of who
you are. In relation to your God, you are someone who was created by God.
You are also someone who has sinned against God. And you are someone who has
been redeemed by God. Those are facts from the Scriptures. Now, because you
are someone who was created by God there is a certain glory to who you are.
And that’s something that you can brag about. It is quite right for you to
say, ‘I am special. I have been made by God. I have been created to be like
God because I have been created in His image.’ It’s also true that there are
certain roles that you and only you are to pursue and accomplish. As God’s
creation, you have specific tasks that are uniquely yours. These tasks are
the reason that He made you. And then, because you are created by God, you
have been equipped with certain abilities and skills so that you can achieve
the purposes God has set before you. God has enabled you to fulfill the role
that He has for you. This, in part, is who you are. Then because it’s also
true that you have sinned against God, there is an ugly side to who you are.
You are a sinner who rebels against your Creator. The image of God in you
has been marred. At times you reject God’s purpose for your life and you
misuse or leave unused the abilities that He has given you for the tasks
that He has set before you. But then, because you are also redeemed by God,
you are also deeply loved. It would not be at all wrong for you to say, ‘If
I were the only sinner needing to be saved, Jesus would still have come and
died on that cross. He would have done it just for me.’ And on top of that,
because you have been redeemed you are destined for great things. You are
destined to become just like Jesus, to be conformed to His image. Now, that’
s who you are. And that’s who every Christian is.
Now, being humble in this sense is incredibly freeing. Let me give you a
personal example. A few weeks ago I was doing some thinking and I told
myself, ‘I’m a good preacher.’ Then I stopped. ‘Can I say that? Is it okay
to say something like that? Isn’t that being proud?’ But as I pursued that
thought further I came to the conclusion that it’s actually is okay for me
to say that. It is, after all, true. But what if I were to say that I am a
great preacher? That would be wrong. That would be pride and not humility
because it’s not true. Humility is simply recognizing what is true about
you. This is who I am. This is what I can do. These are the skills that I
have. It’s isn’t a matter of pride in saying these sorts of things. Pride is
going beyond the facts and claiming to be who you are not. Seeing yourself
in this way, according to what is true about you, can actually go a long way
to protecting yourself from pride. If you can honestly say, ‘This is who I
am. This is who God has made me. He has made me thus so that I can fulfill
that special role He has called me to’, then why would you try to be
somebody else? Why would you think of yourself in different terms? This
leads us to the second half of our text.
James links humility to submission. ‘Therefore, submit to God.’ And this
makes a lot of sense. I’ve already made clear that humility is simply an
accurate understanding of who you really are. Now, who knows who you are
better than the God who made you? His expectations of you are a perfect fit
for you since they are based on who you really are. His will for you is
ideal. So, if He wants you to fill a particular role, you'll know that that
is the exactly right thing. You'll know that His will is the perfect fit for
who you are – that is, if you are humble. Now, you all know that God
expresses His will for you in His Word. But I hope that you also understand
that He expresses His will for you by His providence. He expresses His will
for you by the way your life unfolds.
A couple of years ago the pulpit at Tenth Presbyterian Church was vacant.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Tenth Presbyterian, it is a large,
prestigious church in downtown Philadelphia. James Boice, the pastor who was
known around the world, had died. So, they were looking for a new pastor.
Now, I have a confession. I did not apply for the position. The reasons
should be obvious. I may be a good preacher, but I am not a great preacher.
God hasn’t given me the gifts that I would need to be the pastor of such a
church. So, when the word went out that Tenth Presbyterian was searching for
a new pastor, I concluded that God had not called me to minister there. That
was just a matter of reading God’s providence in my life. Now, I could have
fought that conclusion. There was a time that I wanted to be famous. I
wanted to be known beyond these four walls. But that was just pride. It wasn
’t based on who I really am nor on the abilities God has given me nor on
where God has placed me. An accurate understanding of who I am makes me
concluded that God wants me to be here and not there. It’s a matter of
simple humility to submit to that. As you get to know yourself better, as
you grow in understanding who you really are, God’s will for your life will
become clearer. For me, it’s clear that God wants me to be to be the pastor
of Faith Reformed Church and not of Tenth Presbyterian. And I’m okay with
that. It makes perfect sense to me.
And so, you see, that humility – understanding who you really are – will
result in contentment. God has given me the gifts to be a pastor of a church
of twenty-something families. If He wanted me to be the pastor of a church
of two hundred-something families He would have given me the gifts that I
would need. He didn’t. And I am content with that. It is here that you need
to be careful. If you listen to the world you will never be content. It will
tell you that you can do better, rise higher on the ladder, make a bigger
splash. The world doesn’t understand how God works. He has made us all
different. He has given us different abilities. And He has done that because
He has given us different roles. There are those who are called to be top
notch engineers who will design the cars of the future. But then there are
others who are called to be top notch mechanics who will fix those cars at
the local repair shop. God has made us different. Humility understands that.
Humility is understanding who you really are. And as a result, the humble
are content with the niche that God has carved out for them.
This says something about your kids. They are all in the process of figuring
out who they really are. You need to help them. I would encourage lots of
feedback. Tell them what they are good at. Help them to ignore the foolish
messages of the world. Help them to understand how God has made them. Help
them to understand His unfolding providence in their lives so that they can
be content with the niche that God has called them to.
There’s one last thought. I hope that you will take the time to mull over
this morning’s sermon. Again, I would encourage you to discuss it over
lunch. As you do consider this notion of humility it will become clear to
you that you still have problems with pride. You still fall into the
temptation of trying to make yourself out to be someone who you really aren’
t. But, of course, there’s hope. There’s always hope with the Gospel. ‘God
gives grace to the humble.’ Now, you might say, ‘That’s no help to me. I’m
struggling with pride! It’s not speaking to me.’ Only the humble can see
that they have a problem with pride. Remember who you are. You are a
sinner. But there is always hope for sinners. Jesus has come to deliver
sinners from their sin, even the sin of pride.
