Jump Start # 530 

1 Corinthians 4:1 “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” 

  This Jump Start is a first for us. I will address a question that one of our readers submitted to me. A dear friend asked me to write a Jump Start about “False Humility.” He further asked, “When do you know that you are humble and when are you just pretending?” Great question and I’m glad to write something about it.

  Our passage today brings some thoughts to the table. The Corinthian church was divided and upside down about preachers. They had favorites. Paul in the first four chapters addresses the importance of the message and then the proper role of the messenger. They valued the messenger more than the message. Paul said prior to this: “What is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants…” (3:5). He further said, “So then neither the one who plants (Paul) nor the one who waters (Apollos) is anything…” (3:7). Our verse identifies them as servants and stewards. Their example was that of humility. Paul said “we are hungry and thirsty and poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless…we have become as the scum of the world” (4:11, 13). Hardly the steps of those who are seeking the praise of men. The apostles walked humbly. No one praises the servant, it’s the master that is honored. No one gives much attention to a servant, it’s the master that they are interested in. Paul said that he was a servant. The attention wasn’t about him, but instead, Jesus Christ. Preachers do well to remember that today. The accolades that some of us receive on a Sunday morning would make any head swell. I’ve told people that the reason most church buildings have double doors on the entrance is to get the preacher’s head through it. He might believe all the things people are saying about him. Do not forget, we are but servants. The praise goes to the Master.

  True humility and false humility may look the same on the outside. It’s the inside that makes the difference. False humility, like anything else that’s false, isn’t real. Just like false teaching isn’t the truth…false hope isn’t really hope at all…false humility is plain old fashioned pride on the inside. The person who is pretending with his humility, might also be pretending with his faith, his love and his convictions as well. At the root of all this, may be a person who is pretending to be a Christian. Such usually is an unhappy camper because he has too much of the Bible in him to jump into the world with both feet and he has too much of the world in him to be fully committed to Christ. He’s miserable through and through and he’s finding out that Christ isn’t making much of an impact in his life. He’s stuck and can’t make up his mind if he wants to be a sinner or a saint.

  We are to be a humble people—the Bible says so in many places. Jesus, first showed us how to be humble. He pointed everyone to the Father. He didn’t ask the apostles what they thought of His sermons. Humble folks don’t do that. They are simply glad to be of service and to do what they can. Jesus came to serve and not be served, the true mark of humility.

  The pretender of humility will eventually show his true colors. Jealousy tends to rise and come out. How he views the success of others and how he handles being in the shadow of things will tell a lot. Here are a few of my ideas:

• The humble person may suggest an idea to the elders of the church. They may take that idea, fashion it so it works best and then present it to the congregation. Everyone loves it. Folks thank the elders for their good work. The humble person doesn’t care that it was his idea. He’s glad that they could make the idea better. The pretender has problems here. He wants and needs credit. If he doesn’t get it publically, he’ll be sure and tell folks behind the scenes that it was his idea all along. He will also not like the elders changing his idea. That bothers the pretender.

• The humble person is thankful to have so many talented people in a congregation, even younger men who may be more talented than he is. The humble person realizes how blessed the church is to have so many wonderful people. The pretender won’t do well with this. He’ll fight for a pecking order and remind those younger that he knows things that they don’t. Position is important to the pretender. He claims to be humble but it kills him to hear others praised more than he is. The humble person thinks there is too much praising of people all round. Praise God are his thoughts.

• The humble person doesn’t talk much about himself. He’s more interested in hearing the stories of others. He’s most interested in talking about Jesus. The pretender will talk about himself. He may put himself down, or cover his pride with an impression of low self esteem, but any way it comes out, it seems that he is always talking about himself. When someone has a bad day, he manages to talk about his bad days, often taking place years ago. Some how the pretender finds a way to squeeze himself into every conversation. The pretender just can’t go very long without talking about himself, his favorite subject.

• Sadly, those that will really notice the false humility will be the pretender’s family. It is at home that our true colors come out. The attitudes, what we say about others, making our self the victim of every situation, shooting others down, criticizing the ideas of others, are the characteristics of someone who is not humble. Not at all. At home, there is no one to pretend to. The show only starts when he is around others, especially, other Christians.

  Is there any hope for the pretender? Sure, there is always hope. The pretender must look in the mirror and realize that he’s not the hot shot that he thinks he is. Paul tells us that he was nothing more than a servant—that is a reminder that none of us are key to God’s success. We all can be replaced. God showed that the kingdom was larger than the apostles. They were executed, yet the kingdom thrived. Some preachers may act like the church can’t make it with out them. They are misled and are filled with self. The pretender will stop pretending when he embraces Christ and realizes that without Christ he is nothing. He will become thankful that God can use him at all. He will be thankful for what talents he has. He will want to learn from others who are more talented. He will feel much better about himself and others once he quits pretending.

  The bottom line, the pretender isn’t fooling God. God knows it’s a show. The problem is, the pretender can fool himself. He can start believing the lies he has been living and truly see himself as being humble when he’s not. He is a fake. He’s in trouble and may not even realize it. Sooner or later, his pride will catch up with him and trip him.

 I ran one cross country meet in college. I wasn’t supposed to. In high school I ran track. Short distances and high jumping were my thing. I never ran very far. I was picked because someone didn’t show up. My team was desperate. The race started. I was getting dusted very quickly. I was running against several cross country runners. I was a track guy. They had me in the wrong race. It was obvious that I was going to come in dead last. Pride wouldn’t stand for that. So I fell, rolled a few times, and grabbed the back of my leg. People rushed to my aid. It looked like I was injured. They carried me off. I left that day limping with what I later learned is a syndrome called, “losers limp.” The injury was fake. I pretended so I could save face. Pride wouldn’t admit defeat. How shallow we can be sometimes!

  False humility does the same thing. It’s a way to save face and mask the pride that fills the heart. God hates pride, always has and always will. Instead of getting rid of pride, some go for the “loser’s limp” option. It won’t work with God. It never does.

  It’s ok to laugh at yourself. It’s ok to admit wrong. Be real. Be yourself. Stop taking yourself so serious. Quit faking…We are all fellow servants. That word servant means “one who pulls the oars in the lower level of the ship.” Not too impressive is it? God needs us to pull the oars, but when it’s all said and done, I need to remember that I sit in the lowest part of the boat! Jesus is the captain who is at the helm! It is Jesus who steers us safely home!

  Thanks for the great idea—I hope this helps.

Roger