The greatness of Humility

Sunday May 22

The Greatness of Humility

Who doesn’t aspire to greatness? That is, who doesn’t want to be great or do great things? This desire doesn’t always have to arise from selfishness or from ego or arrogance. It could simply be doing the very best that you can at whatever you do, hoping perhaps that what you do could even bring blessings upon others. (See also Eccles. 9:10.)

The problem, however, comes in defining “greatness.” How easy for our fallen human minds to understand the concept in a way that vastly differs from God’s view.

Read Matthew 18:1-4. According to Jesus, what is true greatness, and how are we to understand it in a way that we can apply it to our own lives?

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To define true greatness, Jesus called a child to stand before Him and said, “‘Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” (vs. 4, NKJV). Jesus didn’t talk about being a great preacher, or a great businessman, or even a great philanthropist. Greatness, in the sight of God, is what we are inside, not what we do externally, though no doubt what’s inside will impact what we do externally.

Notice, Jesus defines greatness in a way that most people in the world don’t. After all, who wakes up one day and decides that the greatness he or she wants in life is to be as humble as a little child? It seems strange to us, to aspire to something like that, but this is only because we are so tainted by the world’s principles, ideas, and concepts.

What does it mean to be humble like a little child? One of the indicators of humility is obedience, putting God’s Word ahead of our own will. If you are on the wrong path in your life, then that’s because you’re on your own path. The solution is simple: humble yourself and get back on God’s path through obedience to His Word. If Adam and Eve had stayed humble, they would not have sinned. It’s interesting to consider that the tree of life and the tree of knowledge were both located in the middle of the garden. Often life and destruction aren’t far apart. The difference is humility.

What are some other attitudes and ideas we hold only because of our contact with the world, attitudes and ideas that are in conflict with the Word of God? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.