Sundays with Kristi - Blessed: Humility

How are humility and power related?

This is an interesting question to me because contrary to popular belief, humility is not the absence of power. We’ll look in more detail below, but just to set the stage, these last couple of weeks we’ve been looking at The Beatitudes, a set of verses that Jesus uses to explain how to be “Blessed.” These qualities and attributes are not typically praised in today’s society, nor do they come naturally. Yet, Jesus indicates that they are the key to being blessed. The first week discussed being spiritually bankrupt, last week talked about mourning, and this week the focus turns to humility.

Matthew 5:5—“Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Other versions of the Bible use differing words listed for humble; some versions say meek, others say gentle. By thinking of all these words, we can get an idea of exactly what type of trait Jesus is referring to. Humility, meekness, and gentleness all share a common idea; they refer to the use
of power.

Power
In the United States, the pursuit of power and position are such ingrained ideas that even from a small age, children are taught to strive to be in power. Those in power make the rules. Those in power enforce the rules. Those in power are supposedly happy because they are in control…at least that is what we are taught.

However, contrary to some beliefs, humility and gentleness are not about weakness. These words are not opposites to the word power. Humility and gentleness refer to a specific use of power and also the knowledge of where the power comes from. God gives us a certain amount of power. We have our ability to make choices. We can choose how to use our power. The question becomes two-fold: how do we use our power and who gets the credit for giving us the power. For example, humility doesn’t say “I’m worthless, everyone is so much better than I am.” Instead, humility would say, “God has given me my abilities and He gets all the credit for the good things that I do.” Humility recognizes that we each have worth because God is the one who bestows worth. Humility takes no credit for what occurs, but instead freely and joyfully gives credit to others and to God for the things that go well. Blessed are the humble.

Inherit the Earth

What is the reward or the blessing for humility? Why, nothing less than the whole earth. Think about it, the iron-fisted ruler who believes that he has the power, is in charge, and should be in charge spends the whole rest of his life fighting to protect his view. He can never rest for at some point another will arise to challenge him. His goal is to be over as much of the earth as possible. There is a constant state of anxiety and fear that accompanies that position.

For the one who is humble, they do not have to worry about another coming up and snatching away something that they know they don’t really even possess in the first place. Since they recognize that their power and possessions are a gift from God, they are not stressing over who might take something of theirs or who might get credit for something they contributed to. They are content, knowing that God is ultimately the one who should get the credit. This is a very freeing position to be in.

As you look at your life today, where are you? Humility is not an easy path to take and it is often met with cynicism and disdain by people who are still struggling to exert an illusion of control and take credit for it. Have you chosen to be humble, for it is indeed a choice. Remember, humility and gentleness both refer to a specific use of power and also the knowledge of where the power comes from. How are you using the power you’ve been given and who gets the credit for it?

RESPONSE:
Father, I feel the pull to exert my own power to try and control people and to take the credit for myself. Help me to know and understand that You are power itself and that You are the one who has given me any power that I have. Help me to consciously choose to give You credit for anything good You allow to be done through me. Help me to use this power to be obedient to You so that I may be blessed.

Kristi Burchfiel, Christian devotional author and speaker
Living in the World – Living out the Word
Check out my daily devotions either on my blog or on my Facebook page

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