Six Traits You Want In Your Life - 4. Humility - Proverbs 3:7-8 - Quick Observations
Quick links to the passage: KJV NKJV NASB NIV
With our online bible study of 2John now started, I am getting really excited for what God is about to do and what He is already doing in those participating and myself also. If you would like to get in on the excitement and participate when the next one starts, please fill out your name and email address to the right and you will be placed in a waiting list. When the next online bible study opens up, that list will be one of the first to be notified. Now to today’s quick observation.
In today’s world, we like to hear from others about how good we are, how smart we are, and how great we are. We as human beings really feed on the flattery. Sometimes we gorge on it so much, we distort the reality of who we really are as God sees us and our ultimate dependence on Him for all things. At that point we set ourselves up for real problems, for when that reality we constructed in our mind, built upon the flattery of others, comes crashing down, and it will, we find ourselves in a desperate situation that usually turns from bad to worse as we try to get ourselves out of that problem.
Now, what if we maintain the reality as God sees us, even when we are successful in what we do? How does that happen and what does that look like? Let us look at todays verses and find out.
Right off, Solomon gives us a warning. Do not consider yourselves wise in your own eyes. Do not use your own standard to say if you are great or smart or strong or whatever. Consider this. Did you get yourself to that point or did you have to learn from others? Your capacity to learn, was that something you were able to able to do on your own or is that a gift from God? The opportunity that you had that got you to where you are now, did you make it possible, or was there a Sovereign God who made it happen? You see, we are not as independent as we think we are. In fact we are more dependent on God than we ever want to admit. So what is our proper response then?
Solomon tells us to fear the Lord (remember back to chapter 1 and verse 7) and depart from evil. It is plain sin to think we can get along in life with out God, let alone be successful. It comes from the pride and selfishness of our own heart. We are to depart from that evil arrogance and humble ourselves before God and fear Him.
When we do this, here are the results. It will sustain us and refresh us. First it will be health to our flesh or bodies. Second it will bring drink or marrow to our bones. I could list all the detriments done to us when we do not have God in His proper place, even physically. When we find ourselves in the situation when our world has crashed around us because we were so full of ourselves it will hurt us even physically. But when we find our proper place in God, not to be put down, but to live as He has determined, dependent on Him and humble before Him, then when adverse things come our way, and they will, we will find a supernatural strength to go through it without the adverse affects discussed previously.
So humble yourselves and do not be wise in your own eyes.
