One of our greatest needs seems to be just out of reach: humility.
Humility, according to Andrew Murray, is “nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all.” It’s the “displacement of self by the enthronement of God.” Murray argues that humility is the highest glory of a creature and a distinguishing mark of God’s people.
“In the life of committed Christians, of those who pursue and profess holiness, humility ought to be the evidence of their righteousness. It is often said that this is not so,” he argues. “Couldn’t one reason be that in the teaching and example of the church, it has never been placed in its position of supreme importance?”
It’s time to correct that deficiency and make humility central to our lives and our ministries.
According to Murray, humility in our relationship with God is evidenced by humility to relationship with others. “The only humility that is really ours is not the humility we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us and actively live in our ordinary conduct.” Humility in our relationship with God is demonstrated by giving preference to others and showing kindness.
We often aim for the virtues the world celebrates, like courage and boldness. God calls us to pursue virtues that the world despises, like death of self, poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, and lowliness.
Humility is demonstrated through our attitudes and actions with real people whom we find difficult. “The humble man looks at even the feeblest and most unworthy child of God, and honors him and prefers him in honor as the son of a King.”
I’m convicted as I read Murray’s classic. Murray argues that the church has not emphasized this virtue enough, and doesn’t realize what she suffers from this neglect.
Murray offers hope, though. “Let us not be discouraged. Let the discovery of the lack of this quality stir us to a greater expectation from God. Let us look at every person who annoys or agitates us, as God’s means of grace, God’s instrument for our purification, for the working out of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the completeness of God, and the nothingness of self, that as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God’s power, only seek to serve one another in love.”
It may not surprise you when I confess that I picked up Murray’s book again because I can think of others who need to read it, which serves as evidence of my pride. Murray won’t let me away with that, though. Humility isn’t just the virtue our adversaries need. The minute we lose sight of our own need for humility is the moment we’ve become proud ourselves.
What would it look like, in this cultural moment, for the church to be known by its humility? I long for a bigger vision of God in my life, one that shapes my attitude toward other believers — especially those who bother me most.
The reward will be great. “Water always fills first the lowest places. The lower and the emptier a man lays himself before God, the speedier and the fuller will be the inflow of divine glory.”
Let’s ask God to grant us lives and ministries characterized by humility.