I listened to a testimony from a man who now heads a large mission organization that really confirmed what I shared on last week. We talked about favor and how important it is to cultivate certain character traits that will elevate you and put you in a place of favor over those who are not cultivating good qualities in their personal lives.

This is one of the main paragraphs from last week that I want to develop a little more: “No matter what our circumstances may be, we are no different than any of these examples I have given. Every one of us has been given gifts to serve humanity. Every one of us has the potential to increase in favor with God and man by following certain principles. We may need to learn new skill sets, be diligent in every area of our life, walk in deeper humility, have a good attitude, be cheerful when others are not, live your life honoring others, being dependable and other such traits that put you in a place where God can elevate you. Favor does not usually come to someone who walks in pride, has a bad attitude, dishonors others or is undependable. A person that lies, is dishonest, sloppy, disobedient or is lazy will not be promoted nor find favor with those who could promote them to a higher place.”

This man shared that he had no special degrees — in fact, he barely graduated from high school. He had not obtained training along the lines that he was now serving in. But he made himself available to serve in several large ministries before being asked to head the one he now works with. 

He served them in whatever way he could. He said how important it was to learn how to serve others well. By laying down your own desires, ambitions and goals and aligning yourself with someone greater than yourself, you will learn the life lessons necessary to ultimately lead when the Lord is ready to elevate you to that position of responsibility. 

Godly leadership takes time to develop. Some very gifted individuals I have known never took the time to cultivate the heart of humility and servant hood and when their character was tested by circumstances where they were not ready to make the correct decisions, they fell into situations that dishonored God and became a stumbling block to others who they were influencing. Sadly this is more common than most of us know.

Humility is best portrayed in the life of Jesus and written about by Paul in his letter to the Philippians. I am going to quote a few verses because Paul says it better than I could paraphrase it. Philippians 2: 3-9 says: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 

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. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name . . .”

Paul himself demonstrated great humility. At the very end of Acts, when he had been arrested and was on his way to Rome to be tried before Caesar, he and his ship were in grave danger after a terrible storm left them without hope of survival. 

Paul, the prisoner, began to exhort everyone based upon a divine visitation he received that they would all be saved if they followed his instructions. He went from being a lowly prisoner to the one who was in charge. Paul knew who he was and where he was going (Rome) so there was no fear. 

Once they all safely reached shore, Paul continued to lead through servant hood. He went to gather wood for the fire that the islanders had made for them. When he was bitten by a poisonous snake, he shook it off into the fire. That supernatural event opened the door for him to preach the gospel and many on that island were saved and healed.

Proverbs 22:4 says “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” Here is a quote that will help us to understand better the importance of humility. “Humility describes a character quality that properly values and accurately assesses oneself, especially in light of one’s sinfulness. In this sense, humility is a virtue that involves modest self-perception. It is the direct opposite of pride and arrogance.”

The Lord definitely looks favorably on those who display true humility — “He gives His grace to the humble.” (James 4:6-7) “He (the Lord) leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” (Psalm 25:9) “Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.” (Proverbs 15:33)

There are other examples in the scriptures of those who sought only to exalt Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said of himself “He must increase (become greater); I must become less (decrease).” Jesus spoke very highly of John saying that there had not arisen anyone greater of those born of women and yet He said, whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Humility is what exalts a person who is in the Kingdom. Matthew 23:11-12 states, “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” I Peter 5:6

Paul exhorts us “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (Romans 12:3) James says it this way: “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13)

Paul went from referring to himself as one who was as the greatest of the apostles to calling himself the chief of sinners near the end of his life. He suffered much humiliation from his peers and yet his epistles have done more to instruct believers on how to live as Christians than any other man who ever lived. He knew that any recognition and honor that came from man was temporary. His one desire was to please the One who demonstrated the way of humility perfectly. 

May we learn and be inspired from the lives of those who have demonstrated great humility in serving mankind. Hearing Him say “well done” at the end of our lives should be our greatest goal and desire.