Living in a world that teaches you to do anything you can to reach the “top of the ladder” while trying to live a life that is pleasing to Christ can be difficult. While there is certainly nothing wrong with obtaining success in your professional or personal life, Jesus Christ laid out very specific instructions for His followers to walk in humility. As a Child of God, it is important to note that you can be successful while still living a life according to God’s standard. Personal humility and personal success are not mutually exclusive. Understanding the teachings of Jesus concerning humility can provide you a better understanding of how to achieve both humility and success.
Jesus Comes by For Dinner
Luke 14:7-11
The Gospel of Luke contains a story of Jesus attending a dinner where people were vying for the most important seats at the table. Somewhere in the hustle and bustle of people trying to get to the best seats, Jesus saw the opportunity to share a story to help the other guests better understand the futility of their actions.
Jesus explained the futility of seeking a seat of power at the table due to the fact that when someone more distinguished arrived, the person who had worked his way to the best seat would be asked to give it up. Jesus spoke to the desire for importance by highlighting the potential of embarrassment when he said, “Disgraced, you will have to take whatever seat is left.”
Instead, Jesus encouraged those guests to choose the lowliest seats at the banquet. That way when the host of the dinner arrived, he could take them to a better seat, and everyone would realize that the person receiving the promotion meant something to the host.
Notice that Jesus never said there was any shame in sitting in the better seats, or even having the desire to do so. Instead, He focused on the importance of the method of getting to that seat. Instead of walking in and jockeying for position in an attempt to highlight one’s own self-importance, Jesus taught they should start at the lowest seat and allow the host to bring them up.
Jesus closed this teaching opportunity with the words found in Luke 14:11 (TPT):
Remember this; everyone with a lofty opinion of who he is and who seeks to raise himself up will be humbled before all. And everyone with a modest opinion of who he is and chooses to humble himself will be raised up before all.
That concept is at the heart of Biblical humility.
The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7
The sermon on the mount, perhaps the most famous discourse that Jesus ever delivered takes up three entire chapters of the New Testament. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7 pass along the message that Jesus shared with a large congregation on the side of a mountain. The beginning of chapter 5 is commonly known as the Beatitudes, or a list of blessings provided by Jesus. It is in verse 5 of this chapter that Jesus discusses the concept of humility.
Matthew 5:5 (WEB)
Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed in this context means to “be happy.” That means that Jesus, in one of the most famous sermons ever delivered said that one of the keys to true happiness is to be humble! However, it is important to note that Jesus’ plea for his followers to be humble here does not mean we are to be timid, weak and fragile. Instead, it goes back to His teachings about having the proper idea of one’s self worth.
People who believe that they are superior to others are rarely the happiest of individuals. While they may put on a façade that indicates that they have reached the peak of superiority and are fully aware of it, they are often the most terrified people because they realize that somewhere someone has achieved more success than them. That concept is why Jesus taught that the true meaning of happiness is found when you are humble and realize that you are simply a part of the larger Body of Christ.
The Disciples Argue Over Greatness
Luke 22:24-30
If you feel like you’re struggling to grasp and apply the concept of Biblical humility, don’t worry; the disciples had the same problem! That’s right, the men who were the closest to Jesus during His earthly ministry walked with him every day and still couldn’t figure out how to live the humble lives that they heard him preach about.
Luke 22:24 (TPT)
The disciples bickered over which one of them would be considered the greatest in the kingdom.
The same disciples who sat beside Jesus when He preached on humility during the Sermon on the Mount were now having an argument over which one of them would be seen as the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus quickly shut down the argument and reminded them that they were not to seek out personal glorification.
Luke 22:27 (TPT)
The leaders who are served are the most important in your eyes, but in the kingdom, it is the servants who lead. Am I not here with you as one who serves you?
The disciples were seeking greatness because they wanted to be served. Jesus, in an attempt to illustrate true humility pointed out that He, as their leader, worked tirelessly to serve them.
Servant Leadership in Action
John 13
John 13:5 (TPT)
Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ dirty feet and dry them with his towel.
In ancient Jewish times, the lowest-ranked servant in the house was responsible for washing the feet of everyone who was there for dinner. The night before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus Christ took on the position of the lowest-ranked servant in the house and washed the feet of His disciples. He did this as a final lesson to them in servant leadership. In fact, he closed out the last supper with the following admonition:
John 13:17 (TPT)
So now put into practice what I have done for you, and you will experience a life of happiness enriched with untold blessings!
The concept of being humble doesn’t mean that a Christian sees himself or herself as unworthy. Instead, it means that we do not consider ourselves to superior to anyone else. After all, we are all sinners saved by the grace of God.
Pray the following prayer over yourself if you are seeking a humbler existence:
God, I thank you for every good thing in my life. I know that your Word teaches that every good thing in my life comes from you. I ask that you would help me to be ever mindful of the fact that I am nothing on my own. The skills and talents that I have are only mine because you have decided to bless me with them. Help me to walk in humility as I strive to live a life that is pleasing to you. In the name of Jesus I ask these things. Amen.