The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
(Proverbs 15:33)
The term humble pie is used in association with someone who has been compelled to acknowledge their deficiencies or errors—to act submissively and apologetically—and thus is forced to “eat humble pie.” Now, no one wants to be forced to eat humble pie, so how do we keep it away from our plate? We live lives marked by humility. Read on and be encouraged!
The key to keeping humble pie off of your plate is to keep a heaping portion of humility on it. Where humble pie is a mark of dishonor, humility is a badge of honor. Here is one of the best definitions I have ever seen for humility: Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. The key to humility is to remove self from the throne of our lives and allow our Savior to occupy His rightful place.
There are a number of descriptions of humility in the Bible, from lowliness to meekness, but I submit that the description that is most helpful is the absence of self. John the Baptist exemplified this biblical truth when he said of Jesus Christ, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). John’s great desire was to magnify the Savior, not the self.
One of the keys to living a life of humility is to remember what God in Christ did for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). When we were still enemies of God (Colossians 1:21), our Lord Jesus went to a cross and paid the penalty for our all our sins, opening the doorway into relationship with Him in our everyday lives and eternal life on the other side of the grave. Jesus made it clear that if we are to be His disciples we must be willing to die to self and live for the Savior . . . and this can only be done in humility.
Over the years I have had to eat some well-deserved portions of “humble pie.” But God is bringing me to the end of myself, and I can only say, “The sooner the better!” I have learned that the more time I spend in the Word of God, the less time I spend trying to elbow my way onto the throne of my life. Why? Because “the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12), and Scripture does its best work from the inside out.
Jesus Christ committed the greatest act of humility the world has ever seen by stepping down from His throne in heaven to enter into this world, take on human flesh, and die on a Roman cross in order to defeat sin, Satan, and death and ultimately to redeem you and me. Keeping that truth before us will keep humble pie behind us, and that is a very good place for it to be.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 