The Mystery Of Humility
The dictionary defines Humble as;
Having a low opinion of oneself; not proud, arrogant, or assuming; modest.

But I have come to find, that the best scriptural definition is captured in

1 Samuel 15:17
So Samuel said, “When you were *little in your own eyes*, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?

Humility is to esteem oneself low.
Amazing right?
Ironically The world teaches us to esteem our selves High.
Hence, like things of the Spirit, Humility is a Mystery.
If I may ask, Are you a Humble person?
Please don't answer this, it is rhetoric. Rather, let it marinate in your heart.

I used to think myself to be Humble. I mean as a Yoruba man, we are cultured to be humble.
But unfortunately, our culture seems to have taught most of us more pride than humility.
We should all beware of our cultural inclinations. While they mean well, more often than not the devil corrupts these good manners.
When the Spirit started to unveil me, I felt like the proudest Human being alive. I was humbled to learn Humility by the Spirit.
Matthew 5:3-5
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.

What does it mean to be poor In spirit?
What does it mean to be Meek?
I have come to find, we are often times too full in spirit. When we should be poor in spirit.
Is this not the secret to being Filled with the Holy Spirit?
The average human mind cannot possibly imagine/fathom how the Meek/Humble will inherit the earth.
Yet, God's Word can never return to Him void. He Knows how he has set things and the order He set them.
Our Heroes of Faith, all walked in High dimensions with God, yet their dependence on God was beyond awe-inspiring.
Moses said to God, if Your Presence will not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

Joseph said to Pharaoh Do not interpretations belong to God?
Meaning he did not even consider himself, but Gave God all the credit/Glory.

Peter and Paul, I can't even begin to mention.

The Anchor for this Message is;
*Philippians 2:5-8*
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Some things are better left veiled because if they are unveiled, we might misbehave.
Do you sometimes appreciate what it means, for God to die for the sin of Man?
That God would humble Himself, the Creator of ALL Creation, and come to live among men, was actually at some point a baby, He dined and played with men, some people actually sent Him on errands?

Do we sometimes reason what I am reasoning?

So who am I, who are we to count ourselves as too special?
On the one hand, yes we are so special in the Eyes of God.
But on the other hand, if God could lower Himself, we should be able to know how to Abase and Abound.

*Pride in our Churches*
It is disheartening that the church has become where to learn Pride. Believers now pride themselves in their Denominations, in their Pastors, in the Magnificence of their structures?
Oh, we now even pride our selves in theology (knowledge of scriptures).
I tell you, it is easier to correct unbelievers than believers. How did we get here?
*We Have Institutionalised Pride*
We call it class. Classism has made us set ourselves among a league of people, and not want to associate ourselves with certain type of people.
*Pride in our Homes.*
Do you realise that God hardly called the First Borns in the Scriptures? Esau, Eliab, Reuben etc
Oh, God usually chose the least expected one. Why?
Family, if care isn't taken endues pride on the children, especially the first Borns. I call it a Sense Of Entitlement mentality.

But God has also seldom chosen First Borns, in fact, He would later demand First Borns to be dedicated to him. Samuel being a notable example. So First Borns, don't worry, you're covered.
Sometimes, it's the last born that has this sense of entitlement.
So really, let's just be conscious of it.

*Age*
Our Age is also a snare.
Adults don't pay attention to Children. We forget that God speaks through any vessel.

Also, those who have been Long in the Faith often have a sense of pride towards younger ones. We forget that the Holy Spirit simply uses our vessels. And it may even be the newest convert that Has the Word Of The Lord.

Often times too, the younger ones become proud of their youthful exuberance and exposure, them become proud towards elders who have faithfully walked the path ahead.
Let's learn to accommodate one another, knowing we are but vessels for God's workmanship.

I have come to fear for this ostentatious generation that If Jesus Christ were to have come in our generation, we would be worse than the Jews.
We would rate him by his looks and branding and wealth.
I assure you, some of us will tell Him to carry His Poor man's gospel away.

I wonder what some of our Pastors would do, a lot of them would do worse than Caiaphas, the Pharisees and Saduccees.
God help us all.

In conclusion, so what is the Mystery of Humility?
It is as expressed from the Mouth of the Master Himself.

Matthew 18:1-5
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
To continually access the Grace of God, we must learn to bring ourselves as low as possible. We must not seek our own.
We must esteem others higher than ourselves.

John 13:5-8
After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Luke 14:7-14
So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:
“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.
But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Humility Before God

Perhaps the highest level of pride in the bible is to raise our hearts and forget God after he has blessed us.
God continued to sound this note of warning vehemently in the ears of the Israelites when He delivered them from Egypt. Yet they became proud and suffered grave consequences for it for generations.

Deuteronomy 8:1-19
"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God."


But if we remain humble before God, His promises are true from generations to generations..

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."