Humble Pie

Today I want to talk about humility.

What is humility? What does it mean to be truly humble? Is it the same as being modest? Can I be proud of my achievements and still be humble? Why is humility important? Is there really such thing as a Humble Pie?!



This isn't an actual Humble Pie
it's just a cherry pie I made
a few years ago!

It seems, from my research, that Humble Pie (or Umble Pie) is actually some kind of medieval meat pie... made from the offal (or, umbles) of animals, usually deer.

The idiom of "eating a slice of humble pie" generally means that one will apologise or publically accept that they were wrong. A kind of bringing oneself back down to earth and remembering that we are not always right.

So what does the Bible teach about humility?

There are over ONE HUNDRED mentions of  humility in the Bible. It seems that the Bible likens humility to meekness. Apparently the Colossians 3:12 use of the word is translated in Greek to, "lowliness of mind". I'm not sure I like this translation. I don't like to be thought of as meek or lowly.

But why does this bother me? We only have to look at some Christmas Carols to see that being meek and lowly was seen as being Christ-like. He was described as being "meek and mild" and lying in a "lowly manger".

I guess that I have an issue with the whole "meek and mild Jesus" thing anyway. Because when I think of Jesus, I don't think of a tiny baby, relying on his mother's milk to sustain him; I think of a benevolent, devastatingly scourged man, dying on the cross. In my mind He looks right in my eyes and tells me, "I love you, my child. This is for you". I then think of Him as a warrior, see my poems, I See You and Gentle Jesus. Definitely nothing meek about Him there!

 

With that being said, I think that humility is a great quality to have. It is a shame that in these days, there doesn't appear to be much of it left.

Let's look at the Gospels, to see what Jesus might have said about humility...

Matthew 23:12 tells us that whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. This is echoed in Luke 14:11 which says for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. John 3:30 portrays a similar message, He must increase, but I must decrease but it is Mark 9:33-37 which holds more of a punch for me:

 

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them,

“What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way

they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them,

“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them,

and taking him in his arms, he said to them,

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."

 

So, it seems to me that Jesus is telling us that in order for us to achieve anything for His Glory, in order for us to be given the grace promised to us, we must first acknowledge that we are not the best. That there is someone and something higher than us. A reminder that we must do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Luke 6:31) and to put others first, at a higher priority than ourselves.  

 

It is by honouring others, that we will in turn, be honoured. Taking a step back and understanding, as it says in Romans 11:18 that it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. It is only then, when we are truly humbled and we accept our weaknesses, that we can embrace an Almighty God.

 

I suppose that until we have humility, we don't see the "need" for a God. We are so concerned with our own greatness that we don't ever think about our mortality. We don't ever think that we might need to rely on anyone else. It is only then, when we are reminded of our desperate worthlessness, that we can accept and appreciate the gift of Salvation which has been given to us. 

 

When we finally understand that we are so lost that we have no hope of ever saving ourselves; we have sinned so much that we can never even begin to ask for the forgiveness required; and as I have alluded to in my poem Help Me, we are nothing but tiny, insignificant paupers, begging on the streets of God's vast creation... Then we will acknowledge just how much we need a Saviour. And He is waiting in the wings, waiting to give us that grace that we so desperately seek.

 

We must replace our personal pride with the pride of Jesus. As it tells us in Galatians 6:14, But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

 

Will you join me in my prayer for humility? As I pray, not only for myself, not just the people closely surrounding us in our family and work lives, but also for those further afield who so desperately need a touch of God's humble pie! Who need to be reminded that although they may be in a position of power now, there comes a day when all will fade away and we will be left with only ourselves and God (Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew 24:35).

 

I ask you all now to heed the advice given to us in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 and to stand with me in praying for our leaders: our church leaders; our work leaders; our individual country leaders. As we face the last days and we look around to see our world crumbling, let's pray that those in charge have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind (1 Peter 3:8).

 

Let's change the world, through humility, compassion and pride in Jesus!