The Power of Humility

Jeremiah 2:4-13; Luke 14:1, 7-14

            I’m not a betting man—I’m too good at math for that—but if I were, I would bet I’m the only pastor in Huntsville who quotes Forbes magazine  today.  Forbes is known for business, investing, economics, and leadership, not theology.  I like this article though.  It is about leadership, and it is akin to what Jesus taught.  It is titled, “13 Habits of Humble People.”  The author, a man named Jeff Boss, who is a leadership strategist, writes that humility is an important quality of good leadership. “Humble people can receive a bad rap,” he writes. “Humility is frequently associated with being too passive, submissive or insecure, but this couldn’t be any further from the truth.”  Here are a few of the habits that make humble people effective leaders.

·        They put others first.  He says that humble people are secure about their own self-worth.  Therefore, they do not constantly have to prove their worth.  That frees them to lift up other people.  That’s why they’re good leaders.

·        They listen.  They’re not constantly trying to jump into a conversation or talk over someone, as if what they have to say is more important.  Humble people actively listen to others, affirming what they have to say is important.

·        They start sentences with “you” rather than “I.” They don’t have a need to brag about themselves.  Humble people are secure enough to brag about others.

·        They accept feedback.  Humble people are not only open to constructive feedback; they actively seek it.

·        They assume responsibility.  They don’t blame “the system” or others when problems arise.  Humble people assume responsibility by speaking up and owning their part.  (March 1, 2015)

There are others habits of humble people, but I think you get the point.  The most effective leaders are not the bombastic managers who bark orders and walk over people.  Those kinds of managers don’t inspire.  They don’t empower.  They don’t add value to you.  They tear people down and tend to suck the life out of them.  Humility, he argues, is far more effective.

Guess what?  Jesus taught this a long time ago.  Not only did he teach it.  He lived it.  And he died it.  The greatest power the world has ever seen is the humility demonstrated on an old rugged cross.

It was the Sabbath, Luke tells us.  Jesus had been invited to a dinner at the house of “a leader of the Pharisees.”  I get the feeling that this was a rather hoity-toity event.  He watched as people scurried about jockeying for seats of honor. 

Let me insert a quick footnote here.  If you know something about the culture of the ancient Middle East, you know that it was a culture driven by the concepts of honor and shame.  People knew not to do things that shamed their family name.  We still occasionally hear from that part of the world about honor killings.  A teenage girl might do something that shames the family name, and her uncles or brothers protect the honor of their family by killing her.

            Luke says Jesus watched as the guests sought “places of honor” at the dinner.  This was not merely cozying up to the host.  This was about personal and family identity, one’s standing in society.  What Jesus saw happening at that banquet, jockeying for position, squirming for a seat of honor, was a deep, powerful driver of their culture, and he chose to challenge it.  He saw a greater power.  It was the power of humility.

            Do you remember the game we used to play when we were children, musical chairs?  We walked in a circle of chairs with music playing.  There was one less chair than the number playing the game.  When the music stopped, everyone scrambled to get a seat.  But every time one person was left standing and was out of the game.  What Jesus watched that day was an adult version of musical chairs.  It was built on their concepts of honor and shame.  And nobody wanted to be left out.

As Jesus watched this social game unfold, he told the guests a parable, a story.  He said that when they are invited to a banquet they should not seek the places of honor.  There’s a risk that someone more distinguished, more honorable, will arrive and the host will order you to move. That would be shaming.  So Jesus told them to take the lowest place.  Go ahead and seek out a lower place of honor, and when the host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.”  Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.

After the parable, Jesus gave this interpretation: For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted

            Here’s another way of saying that: For all who exalt themselves will be shamed, and those who humble themselves will be honored.

Jesus then turned to the host.  He advised the host, in the presence of all his status hungry guests, that when he gives a dinner he should not invite friends, family members, and rich neighbors.  They will return the favor, and then he’s really given nothing.  Instead, when you give a banquet, Jesus told him to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, all those folks who were left out of the parties, those shamed by their culture.  Then, Jesus said, you will be blessed because those folks can’t repay you. You actually give something, and you will be repaid “at the resurrection for the righteous.”

            Careful readers of this text have asked if Jesus was possibly gaming the system here.  Was he really teaching a clever way to gain honor?  Don’t risk being moved down.  Take the lower seat to begin with, and maybe you’ll be moved up.  So was Jesus really coaching the guests on how to play this little game of honor and shame?  That, to me, seems to contradict everything Jesus was about.  The one who said that the first shall be last and the last shall be first was not one to game the system.  No, he was challenging that powerful driver of their culture and putting in its place a new value system.  It is called humility. Humility was not something to be feigned, pretended, in order to receive honor.  No, Jesus taught humility as a way of life that is born from one’s relationship with God. 

Consider the power of humility:

·        It frees us from measuring our self-worth by the opinions of others.  That is a costly trap all of us have been caught in.

·        It permits us to measure our self-worth by the value God places upon us.  God values us enough to give God’s only son.

·        Humility allows us to appreciate others.  They’re not just someone to compete with.  They too have worth.

·        Humility frees us to speak less and listen more.  We desire to understand more than to be understood.

·        Humility accepts limitations.  Ours and others’.

·        Finally, humility allows us to help others and promote their success.  That way we build better communities, better churches, and a better world.

Is there power in humility?  Jesus thought so.  He lived it.  He died it. He challenges us to live that way now.  Because the greatest power the world has ever seen is the humility demonstrated on an old rugged cross.

Closing Prayer 

Lord, we’re not immune.  We’re as vulnerable to status seeking and insecurity as anyone else.  So help us to be secure in our relationship with you.  And may that free us to be genuinely humble.  Amen.