Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul

by Hannah Anderson

Some of us are hitched to the plow of men and women who happily abuse our spiritual sensitivity for their own benefit. These kinds of masters are not gentle and humble as Jesus is; they specialize in strict judgments and man-made rules that they themselves do not follow. So instead of being motivated by goodness and beauty, we are driven forward by fear, threat of punishment, and manipulation. We feel the pressure to maintain picture-perfect lives and never step out of line lest we incur judgment. And we end up caught in a cycle of always evaluating our performance, always looking over our shoulder, always afraid and defensive. In contrast, Jesus promises to be a kinder, gentler master. He promises that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In John 3, He tells Nicodemus (a religious leader himself) that He did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it.7 And in his letter to the early churches in Galatia, the apostle Paul reiterates that “for freedom Christ has set us free … do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”8 Unlike many of the religious leaders who sought power and personal glory, Jesus comes to bring us freedom and rest.