“The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.”
Psalm 25:8-10 NLT
David wrote, “He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way”. This simple and informative sentence is also profound and fundamental, and essential for the health of pilgrims everywhere. Quite simply, to continue our journey in the right way, receiving God’s teaching to help us, means we have to be humble. Three words that are the opposite of “humble” are “proud, arrogant and conceited”, and, unfortunately, I have come across many people, particularly in employment, whose actions and personality are described perfectly by these three words. There again, I suppose that everyone, at one time or another, has behaved in the same way at some time in their lives. But in our secular world, humility is considered with negative connotations, associated with words such as meekness, and humble people are often considered as being inferior to their more arrogant and assertive peers.
So what does it mean to be “humble“? There are two New Testament Scriptures that make it clear that humility is something we have to work at. 1 Peter 5:5-6, “In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honour“. And then we have Ephesians 4:2, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love“. And of course we mustn’t forget what Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth“. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12 that humility is something that we put on much like when we get dressed, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”. So being humble is a mindset, a life-choice, and humility something that a pilgrim must adopt if he or she is to grow to be more like Jesus.
Humility is not an option for Christians, because some commentaries even state that it must be a prerequisite before we can even be saved. A humble person is one who has put to death their “old man” and replaced it with the “new man” Paul wrote about in Ephesians 4:22-24. “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”. A proud person, puffed up with a sense of their own importance, will never empty themselves to the point that God’s grace will flow and provide His resources for their journey. An un-humble person will be full of themselves and they go round singing the old song “I’ll do it my way”, but, unfortunately for them, they can’t. It has to be God’s way, or no way.
Jesus gave His disciples, and us, an example of what being humble looks like. In John 13 we read the story of how He left the dinner table where He was enjoying the Passover meal with His disciples, and adopted a servant’s role to do the most menial and demeaning job a servant could be called to do. He washed His disciples feet. Peter objected because, after all, this was His Lord and Master, and anyway, rabbis don’t go around washing people’s feet. After all the feet had been washed (including those of Judas, by the way), Jesus gave an explanation. John 13:14-15, “And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you”. So we pilgrims look around at our peers, our friends and family, and must ask ourselves the question – have I washed any of these feet? Not necessarily literally of course, but do we have the attitude that we look out for ways in which we can do something similar?
Perhaps we pilgrims, myself included, need to do a regular checkup and set ourselves a humility test. Unless we pass the test we will limit God’s grace in our lives. God will lift up those who are humble – Luke 14:11, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted”.
Dear Lord, help me to be humble. Grant me the grace to see my own flaws and shortcomings, and to recognize that my gifts and talents are not my own but a gift from you. Help me to prioritise others’ needs and well-being above my own desires and ambitions. May I be more concerned with serving you and others than with pleasing myself. Forgive my pride and arrogance, and fill me with your humility. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 