Jump Start # 1115

Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more humble than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

  Humility is something that doesn’t score many points with folks today. Aggressive, bragging, self promoting, arrogant—that gets noticed. It is those things that often pushes one to the front of the line—in sports, in business and in life. Go for it, take it, you deserve it—slogans not of the humble but the aggressive. God’s people go a different direction. God’s people are inclined to listen to a different message, the words of Christ. Humility is the nature of Christ. Matthew records the great invitation of Jesus when He pleaded, “Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart…” I am humble. Moses was humble. No one was more humble on the earth than Moses. God wants us to be humble.

It’s hard getting a grasp on humility. It’s not denying your value. It’s not walking through life with an Eeyore complex. It’s not believing you cannot do anything. It’s not denying yourself pleasures or fun. It’s not beating yourself up. Is it possible to play sports or games and want to win and remain humble? Is it possible to strive to be number one in your class? Is it possible to want to be the top in sales for the company you work for? Does humility keep that from happening? Does it mean you allow people to have their way with you? Does it mean you never speak up, speak out, or defend yourself? Some are so afraid of being viewed as not humble, that they hide in the cave of life.

Consider some Moses facts:

1. He broke up a fight between his countrymen

2. When he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, he killed the Egyptian

3. He didn’t think he was the one who could go to Pharaoh. He didn’t know what to say, nor think he was good at speaking. God thought otherwise and sent him.

4. He was stern and direct with Pharaoh. On one occasion he left Pharaoh, “hot in anger” (Exodus 11:8).

5. When he saw Israel dancing to the golden calf, Moses threw down the tablets of stone and they broke.

6. When God was so angry with the nation that He wanted to destroy all of them, it was Moses who pleaded with God. His prayers swayed God.

7. Moses got angry and struck the rock and his punishment was not being allowed to enter they promise land.

And, no one was more humble on the earth than Moses. Passionate, at times angry, confident, not compromising—yet humble. Moses was humble. Humility is more about my position than anything else. A person can be confident, passionate, asserting, yet not pushing self. Moses stood with God. Moses wanted the people of Israel free, as God wanted. Moses would be direct when it came to what God wanted. You don’t find Moses talking about Moses. You don’t find Moses basing his arguments upon who he was, but rather what God said. It wasn’t about Moses, it was about God.

Being humble means being a team player. Being humble means the spotlight isn’t on you but on the group, the company, the team, or in Moses’ situation, on God. It takes backbone, confidence and a certain amount of aggressiveness to teach and spread the word of God. These attributes are not in us, but in the word. We recognize ourselves as humble servants. We are God’s tools. We are simply doing what we ought to do. Humble keeps you from drawing all the attention and being the big dog. Humbleness recognizes the value of the sound guy at church or the secretary at work or the equipment manager on the team or the guy who brings in the grocery carts from the lot or the thousands of other sideline jobs that are essential but rarely get any attention. The humble person understands that these other people are necessary to make his job run smoothly. He acknowledges the “little guy” and understands everyone has a role.

Humble. Jesus was humble. He didn’t let the money changers abuse God’s temple—He drove them out. He wouldn’t let the Pharisees get away with dumb stuff and questions that we not honest. He challenged them. He stood His ground. He forced them to conclusions. He was humble. Yet, He didn’t walk around like a Rock Star, with body guards, keeping a distance from others. When asked, He went. When questioned, He answered. He was in the home of tax collectors. He touched lepers. He went to Samaria. He allowed the children to come around Him. He wasn’t too good for anyone. Everyone felt welcomed by Jesus, until their unbelief got in the way. Jesus demonstrated humility.

So, for us, it means we do not ignore those who are different. The guy who is a little “off.” The person who wears the same clothes. The kids. The aged. The divorced. The guy who bounces in and out of righteousness. Humble means I welcome, I associate, I include, I love all people. When we lack that, the atmosphere of a country club prevails. Only certain ones are accepted. If you are not one of us, you cannot come in. We best be very careful with that thinking, because one day, we will be on the outside as well. That’s not the way of God.

Humble—you don’t have to toot your horn. You don’t have to tell others what you did. Don’t let the left hand know what the right is doing—remember? Just do what you can. God knows. God remembers. Help others. Don’t be too good to pull weeds at the church house, pick up a song book, or teach a class. Humble—do what you can.

A while back someone sent me one of the Jump Starts. I guess he didn’t know that the Roger who writes these is me. He sent a note saying that I might appreciate getting this devotional. At first I thought about writing him and telling him what amazing things these are, the best I’ve ever read. But I got a hold of that pride and didn’t. It then struck me that maybe he concluded that there was no way I could write these things. That made me feel worthless. I finally just sent him a note explaining that the Roger that wrote the Jump Starts was this Roger. He never wrote back. He must have felt as awkward as I did.

Humble. It’s hard. It’s a balance. It’s something that we must work at. When it’s missing, it’s easy to tell. When it’s there, it sure makes a difference.

Roger