In Matthew 5, Christ discusses the beatitudes, beginning with the importance of being humble in verse 3. To be in the Kingdom of God, we MUST have a spirit of humility, also defined as a lowliness of mind, which is an attitude expressed from the heart, not just an outward behavior. One may be able to fool everyone else by putting on an outward show of humility, but still have a heart full of pride and arrogance, along with hypocrisy. This is very dangerous because God knows everything, and we can’t hide anything from Him.
The behavior that Christ describes in Matthew 23 about the Pharisees is the opposite of humility, and also the opposite way that Christ lived, for the Pharisees presented themselves hypocritically to be “seen by men” (Matthew 23:1-12).
Christ says that whoever is the greatest should be the servant of the others. If we put ourselves above others, we will be put down. But if we humble ourselves, we will be honored. We are to conduct ourselves in our lives by being a good example, not just to ourselves, but also to God. That is what we ought to be doing. We have to be diligent in all we do, diligently keeping God’s Law, for it is our future that is at stake.
Humbling ourselves is a must, and we are constantly growing in wisdom, learning throughout our lives in how we handle certain situations, especially when it comes to people who have NO knowledge of the Truth. We may be confronted by people in the world who think they know everything, but they are mistaken (1 Corinthians 8:2). True knowledge is linked to humility and a willingness to learn, by loving God and obeying Him, for He reveals to us our understanding.
Our humility is put to the challenge when we are confronted by people who assume what they believe is correct, for example, when someone wishes us a Merry Christmas, when someone expects us to congratulate them because they have just joined the military, or that their baby has been baptized, or that God loves us no matter what we do, etc. Our patience in our responses is also put to the test. In certain instances, silence is the best response, which can prevent worthless arguments. However, when we do respond, we must be wise in our answers (compare Ecclesiastes 3:7; Proverbs 17:28). Additionally, we should pray to God, and He will guide us (compare Luke 12:11).
On the other hand, we don’t want to be going around thinking that we know everything either, persuading people to believe what we do, for example, by going door to door, passing out literature at public places where people don’t ask for it, throwing our pearls before swine by giving our precious knowledge away to those who don’t understand and don’t care (compare Matthew 7:6).
God has a specific requirement from His called-out ones. Our commission is to preach the gospel through our messages, literature and other material, that is accessible on our websites, where anyone has access to it, and those who have an eye will read the literature that is presented, and those who are interested will contact us for more information. We do our part and God does the rest.
Moses is mentioned in the Bible as the most humble person, but there were still times when he didn’t do things that God wanted him to do. And because of that, he wasn’t able to enter the Promised Land. Moses took credit for himself when he struck the rock in the wilderness and water gushed out, and, due to his failure to give glory to God and his doubt that God would provide, he was punished for it (Numbers 20:12).
However, God was with Moses, and Moses saw firsthand how God intervened time and time again. Moses should have remembered that, and that there comes a time when God’s patience runs out. If God has a specific purpose for each of us, which He expects from us, a decision that we also have made to live righteously, to overcome our weaknesses, to come out of the world, then God WILL help us, to be there for us, and He will continue to bless us.
If we choose to disobey by not overcoming our weaknesses, then the time will come when God will have had enough. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:19-20).
This is serious, brethren! We need to make sure that this doesn’t happen to us because it has happened to many others in the Church, and it will continue to happen in the Church of God. We must have our priorities straightened out by glorifying God and by putting Him first in our lives with humility and trusting in Him – in ALL things.