Humility and Thankfulness

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income. "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 18:9-14

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

As I have meditated on these two qualities in the past week, it's become clear just how strongly they are linked. We cannot exhibit one without also exhibiting the other. As we grow in one, we grow in the other and where we fail in one, we fail in the other.

At the center of these two qualities, pulling them together, lies our sense of entitlement. In order to be truly thankful and humble, we must resist our natural tendency to exaggerate what we deserve, particularly in the area of material possessions. For example, if we are not truly grateful for the beautiful home God has given us, our pride roars when we look at what other people around us have been able to afford. Likewise, if we do not have our pride in check, we will not feel particularly grateful for our job when a co-worker is promoted ahead of us.

The Bible is full of reminders that inflated pride and a lack of appreciation inhibit intimacy with God. Psalm 10:4, says, "In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

Yet pride, arrogance, greed and selfishness are rampant today. Our culture has conditioned us to look out for ourselves and fight for what we're entitled to. More emphasis is placed on self-fulfillment than morality and our children are taught that it's more important to feel good than to do good. Clearly, we do not live in an environment conducive to humility and gratefulness. What can we do?

Notice carefully what James tells us. His command is to, "humble yourself." In a similar way, Paul tells us to, "Give thanks."

They are not telling us to, "be humble" or to "be thankful."

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm not certain how to make myself become humble or to force myself to feel thankful. If I were to attempt it and fail, then I might be inclined to shrug my shoulders and give up in despair. But no, we are commanded to do, not to be. Fortunately, I do know how to humble myself and how to give thanks, so I can concern myself with doing something tangible, instead of trying to be something intangible.

Though we may not succeed in becoming humble and thankful by striving for that directly, by humbling ourselves, we will become humble and by giving thanks, we will become thankful.

Every day, there are terrific opportunities to humble ourselves which we may overlook. It's a choice we have to consciously make whenever we feel that we may not be getting our due. When we discover that a co-worker has been promoted to the position we felt we deserved, then we can choose to be happy for them or we can choose to be bitter and resentful. When you volunteer for an event at your church and all that remains is the job of cleaning up, then you have a choice to make. Will you walk away in disgust because that job is beneath your talent, or will you gratefully accept the task and complete it joyfully? Humbling ourselves is as simple as making the decision to suppress our pride whenever it rears its ugly head. The more we do this, the easier and more natural it will become until, at long last, we will be humble.

Giving thanks is likewise a conscious decision we need to make daily. As part of our regular prayer time, we need to get on our knees (metaphorically and literally) and thank God for the abundant and rich blessings in our life. We should list all of our blessings such as our home, a warm meal, the love of friends and family and most importantly, our salvation, and take a moment to truly appreciate each of them. In time, we will evolve from someone who gives thanks to someone who is truly thankful.



From: Delve Into Jesus