Proverbs 22:2-4 Yesterday we shared how the major thing that stands in the way of our doing all things with love is pride. Today we look at the benefits of humility. Jesus was the perfect example of humility. We are told in the Scriptures that He humbled Himself and became a servant. He emptied Himself of everything but love. God is love. He issues the invitation to every one to come to Him and learn meekness and lowliness of heart. Truly I believe Jesus is the only one who can help us learn all about humility. There have been many wonderful books written on humility. But none of those books will change us unless we are willing to sit at the feet of the Great Teacher who can instruct us perfectly in meekness and lowliness of heart.
The benefits of humility are many. Three of these benefits are listed in this proverb: “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”
The riches spoken of here are not necessarily material wealth. Some of the poorest people on earth are the meekest people. In our travels to Mexico and India we saw some of the poorest people on earth. Their humility put me to shame. I remember a camp meeting in Mexico when these poor Mexicans were flat on their faces before the Lord worshiping Him with all of their hearts. I didn’t want to get on the floor because it was dirty. Lord, forgive me. These people were poor financially, but they were rich spiritually. They knew the joy of the Lord and His peace, and they expressed it boldly.
We are exhorted by Peter to humble ourselves by casting every care upon the Lord. This is another great benefit of humility. Humble people do not have one care on this earth. They have given every care into the hands of Jesus. Whenever we become anxious about anything, we are in pride. We are not trusting the Lord, and we have not released our cares to Him. He truly cares for us. We will only find rest for our souls when we humble ourselves and cast every care upon Him.
Another benefit of humility is that we can see ourselves as Jesus sees us. People who are always down on themselves and feel rejected are in just as much pride as those who think too highly of themselves. Jesus sees you as a person worth dying for. Who are you to be down on yourself? You are His priceless treasure.
Exaltation is another benefit of humility. Every one on this earth longs for riches, honor and life, and all of this is found in the kingdom of God. To enter this kingdom we must humble ourselves and say, “I need You, Jesus.” When we say those words, Jesus hears, and we begin the lifelong process of learning meekness and lowliness of heart from Him. When we enter this kingdom, we are exalted to the high position of kings and priests.
READ: Job 20:1-22:30; 2 Corinthians 1:1-11; Psalm 40:11-17; Proverbs 22:2-4
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