Humility

Humility The Higher the Bamboo Grows, the Lower It Bends
A government official who came into President Lincoln's office was startled to find the chief executive shining his shoes. "Sir," he gasped, "surely you do not polish your own shoes!" "Of course," replied the humble President. "Whose do you polish?" The greatness of a man is evidenced by his humility. In the words of an old Filipino saying, "The higher the bamboo grows, the lower it bends."
All of this is illustrated in the life of Jesus. "Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). The highest title God ever allows in His church is "servant." Am I willing to serve people as Jesus did? I know, I cannot die for people to save them as Jesus did, but I can "die to self" to enable me to tell people that Jesus died for their sins, and thus serve them in the greatest way possible.
When I humble myself, then God will give me the grace to grow into maturity where, I like the tall bamboo, can lower myself to serve those of "low esteem." Notice, "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited" (Romans 12:16). How tall are you spiritually? Tall and flexible enough to serve people in all kinds of situations? A Somebody with God
Joel C. Gregory writes:
"How many times have we had to reach the end of our own resources before we remembered to trust in God, the one steadfast resource of our lives? We're all in need of a spiritual exodus day by day. When our faith causes difficulties, our first response is to fall back on our familiar resources-people, things, self -and only when these do not help can we truly lean only upon God for our needs.
"I like what Dwight l. Moody said about Moses in this connection. Moody, not a very erudite man, had an unusual insight into Scripture. He said that Moses spent forty years in the king's palace thinking that he was somebody; then he lived forty years in the wilderness finding out that without God he was a nobody; finally he spent forty more years discovering how a nobody with God can be a somebody.
"And he was right. When Moses and the people found out they were nobodies without the resource of God, that's when the exodus began."

Brokenness
God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to produce rain, broken grain to give bread and broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is the broken Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever. His Last Prayer
Nicolaus Copernicus was a famed astronomer born in Poland on February 19, 1473. He was a mathematician whose accomplishments changed men's ideas of the universe. Also he was a well-known writer. Although highly educated in astronomical science, he was much more-he was a child of God who had learned to know and trust his Savior, Jesus Christ. When he was critically ill with his final illness, his book, On Resolutions of the Celestial Bodies, just off the press, was laid in his arms.
At the close of his life, he did not think of himself as an astronomer or scientist, but as a sinner who needed the forgiveness of his Savior. He asked that the following epitaph be written on his gravestone:
"Lord, I do not ask the kindness Thou didst show to Peter. I do not dare ask the grace Thou didst grant to Paul; but, Lord, the mercy Thou didst show to the dying robber, that mercy show to me. That earnestly I pray."

Humility Never Parades
Some years ago I saw what is called a sensitive plant. I happened to breathe on it, and suddenly it drooped its head. I touched it, and it withered away. Humility is as sensitive as that-it cannot safely be brought out on exhibition.
A man who is flattering himself that he is humble and is walking close to the Master is self-deceived. Humility consists not in thinking merely of ourselves, but in not thinking of ourselves at all. Moses did not realize that his face shone. If humility speaks of itself, it is gone.

More Weight
The branch that bears the most fruit bows lowest to the ground while the branch with little or no fruit stands most upright. So it is with humility and conceit. Humility carries with it the weight of wisdom while conceit has the light-headedness of pride.

Giving God the Glory
A woman doctor on the mission field restored to health the greatly loved child of a native. In gratitude he knelt at her feet and not only thanked her but worshiped her as a god. She remonstrated, saying that she was a mortal like himself and worship belonged only to God. He replied that no one but a god could have saved the child's life. "Whom would you thank and praise," the missionary replied, "for a princely gift sent by the hand of a messenger-the servant or his generous master, the giver? I am but God's servant by whose hand he has been pleased to send you this great gift of healing." May a like humility and faithfulness possess us as we use our gifts, small or great, in the service of our Lord and among those in the sphere where He has placed us.

Mock Humility
If the Christian wants to receive any benefit as he looks in the mirror of the Word of God, he must approach it with humility. A man can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility. One soon detects mock humility.

Plain Earthenware Bottles
Some years ago, a party of Americans were leaving Cairo, Egypt, on a journey across the desert and bought vessels in which to carry water. Each one chose the kind of vessel that pleased him. One found jars of brass whose fine designs attracted him. Another purchased porcelain vessels of rare beauty. A third, however, took some plain earthenware bottles. The way across the desert was long and wearisome. The heat was intense. Every drop of water was of value. The brass vessels heated; the water became impure, unfit to drink. The costly porcelain jars cracked in the heat and the water was lost. But the plain earthenware bottles kept the water pure and fresh to the journey's end. The Blessing of Humility
When you are in the process of humbling yourself, the Lord will load you with blessings. God wants you to be like the stalk of wheat that is full of beautiful grains. The more it is loaded the lower it stoops down. Thus, my dear friend, your real riches will be manifested by your humility. The Humble Monk
A subtle temptation that comes to the new believer in Christ is to become proud of his position. He finds it all too easy to take the lead and to assign to Christ a position of lesser importance. Thomas Aquinas was a true saint of God, whose crown of glory never faded because he never polished it himself. One day when he was walking in the cloisters of a monastery in Bologna where he was lecturing, a monk came hurrying up to him and told him to come with him on an errand to the city. The monk had been ordered by his superior to bring with him the first brother monk he saw; not knowing Thomas by sight, he told him to come.
The great teacher never said a word but followed the monk as well as he could, though a bit slowly, for he was rather lame. "Hurry up, can't you?" the monk said impatiently, and Thomas did his best. After a while, the monk noticed that all the people in the street were looking at his companion, and many of them were saluting him with great respect. Presently one of them asked, "Isn't that the great teacher, Thomas Aquinas, who is with you?" The monk was horror-stricken! He had disturbed one of the most important men in the city and then treated him with scant courtesy. With tears in his eyes he begged the master's pardon.

What Hath God Wrought
The inventor of the telegraph, Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, was asked by a friend, "Professor Morse, when you were making your experiments in your rooms at the university, did you ever come to a standstill, not knowing what to do next?"
"Oh, yes, more than once."
"At such times what did you do next?"
"Whenever I could not see my way clearly, I prayed for more light."
"And the light generally came?"
"Yes. And may I tell you that, when flattering honors came to me from the invention which bears my name, I never felt I deserved them. I had made a valuable application of electricity, not because I was superior to other men, but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone, and was pleased to reveal it to me."
The first message sent by the inventor of the Morse code was, "What hath God wrought!"

How to Be Fruitful
A government official in India who was engaged in irrigation work came to the owner of a field and offered to make it fruitful, to which the owner answered, "You needn't attempt to do anything with my field; it is barren and will produce nothing." The official replied, "I can make your field richly fruitful if only it lies low enough." He meant that a lowland would be much easier to irrigate than higher ground. If you and I are willing to accept God's estimate of us as revealed in Scripture-as fallible, weak, and unfruitful apart from His enabling grace in Christ-He can fill us with the living water that will bring forth fruit. One of the last messages of a great philanthropist was, "Tell my younger brethren that they may be too big for God to use them, but they cannot be too small." An Outstanding Memory
I had the opportunity of conversing with Mrs. May Moody Whittle, D. L. Moody's daughter-in-law. I asked her what was her outstanding memory in the life of Dwight L. Moody. Do you know what she said? "He could tell his children that he was wrong and ask them to forgive him." She went on to tell me that one day the children let the horses out of the stable and it took him a long time to get them back. He really told them off. Finally, at night when the children were in bed, Mr. Moody went up and apologized to them for having spoken as he did. This trait is what his children esteemed more than anything else in their father. The Holy Shadow
It is said that long ago there lived a saint so good that the angels came down to see how a mortal could be so godly. He went about his daily work diffusing virtue as a star diffuses light, as a flower emits perfume, without being aware of it. Two words told the story of his days-he gave; he forgave. Yet these words never fell from lips; they were only expressed by his smile, in his forbearance and charity. The angels asked God that the gift of miracles might be given to this good man. The answer was, "Yes; ask him what he wishes." So the angels spoke to him about it. Would he choose that the touch of his hand should heal the sick? He said, no, that he would rather God should do that. Would he have power to convert souls? He answered, no, that it was the Holy Spirit's work. What, then, did he desire? He said, "That God may give me His grace." When pressed further to give the particular power he would have, he replied, "That I may do a great deal of good without ever knowing it." Then it was decided that every time the saint's shadow should fall behind or on either side, so that he could not see it, it should have the power to cure disease, soothe pain, and comfort sorrow. Thus it came to pass that, falling thus out of his sight, his shadow made withered plants grow again, and fading flowers sweet, gave health to pale children and joy to unhappy mothers. But the saint was never aware of the blessings that flowed from him. And the people, respecting his humility, even forgot his name and spoke of him as the Holy Shadow. How different this dear saint was from some of the present-day leaders in our religious circles whose names almost overshadow the name of Him whom they preach.

Praise Detested
One of the things St. Chrysostom detested was the applause and flattery of those to whom he preached. He said: "To me it is nothing when I am applauded and well spoken of. There is only one thing I ask of you-to prove your approval of me through your works. That is how you can speak well of me, and that is what is going to do you good. This, to me, is the greatest honor. I prefer it to a material crown. I do not desire applause and being well spoken of. I have one request to make-for you to listen to me in quiet attentiveness and to put my advice into practice. This is not a theater. You don't sit here in order to admire actors and to applaud them. This is a place where you must learn the things of God." God greatly honored Chrysostom in the sowing of the seed of His Word because he was a humble man.

Take No Credit
"Look, Daddy, I wrote my name all by myself!" cried a little boy proudly waving a paper. His mother had held his hand and helped him form the letters for several days, and now this wavering scrawl is suddenly his own accomplishment. We smile at this, but do we not often behave in similar fashion? When by God's grace we give our hearts to Jesus Christ, and His love comes to dwell within us, how can we take credit to self for His working in and through us? Paul's question, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1 Corinthians 4:7) should restore us to a proper sense of humility before God and our fellowmen.

Ego Reduction!
The naturalist William Beebe told of an exercise in humility practiced during visits he made to Theodore Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill. Often, after an evening's talk, the two men would stroll over the wide-spreading lawn and look up into the night sky. They would see who could first find the pale bit of light near the upper lefthand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then either Beebe or Roosevelt would exclaim, "That is the spiral galaxy of Andromeda! It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million galaxies. It is two and a half million light-years away. It consists of one hundred billion suns, many of them larger than our own sun!" After a moment of awesome silence, Roosevelt would grin and say, "Now I think we are small enough. Let's go to bed!"

Stoop Down to Reach God's Highest Gifts
F.B. Meyer once said: "I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other, and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower; that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts."

Dying to Self
The great artist Michelangelo fastened a little lantern to his headpiece so that his shadow wouldn't fall on the marble on which he was working. When self becomes obtrusive, it casts a shadow on all we do. This is true even in prayer.

I Don't Know the Way
A mother once sent her son on an errand to a place he'd never been. He was a little fellow, but he didn't want to show he was afraid. That's human nature. The younger we are, the more we hate to lose face. Humility often comes with age. As this youngster got ready to leave the house, he stopped at the door, turned to his mother, and said, "It's so far, and I don't know the way. I'm not afraid, you know, but could you come along with me for a little bit of the way?" The mother understood how disturbed the little one was. "Of course," she said. "Mother will come with you all the way." The little fellow put his hand in hers and went out in full confidence that everything would be all right.

Humble Enough to Be Used
When someone asked St. Francis of Assisi why and how he could accomplish so much, he replied: "This may be why. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the earth and said, 'Where can I find the weakest, the littlest, the meanest man on the face of the earth?' Then He saw me and said, "Now I've found him, and I will work through him. He won't be proud of it. He'll see that I'm only using him because of his littleness and insignificance.'" From Heaven Comes All
On March 27, 1808, a grand performance of the Creation took place in Vienna, and the composer himself, Franz Joseph Haydn, who was seventy-six, was able to be in attendance. He was so old and feeble that he had to be wheeled into the theater in a chair. His presence aroused intense enthusiasm among the audience which could no longer be suppressed as the chorus and orchestra burst with full power into the passage, "And there was light." Amid the tumult of the enraptured audience the old composer was seen striving to raise himself. Once on his feet, he mustered up all his strength, and in reply to the applause of the audience, cried out as loudly as he was able, "No, no! Not from me, but," pointing to heaven, "from thence-from heaven above-comes all!" He then fell back on his chair, faint and exhausted, and had to be carried out of the room. What a humble acknowledgment for a great musician to make.

Give Him the Reins
In the horse and buggy days, a man was driving with his wife along a dangerous road. At a very narrow place the wife became frightened and seized the rein nearest to her. Her husband quietly passed her the other rein and let go. Then more frightened than ever she said, "Oh, don't you let go!" He answered, "Two people cannot drive one and the same horse; either I must drive or you must." Then she gave him the reins and he drove safely past the danger.

All Equal
It is related that once when the Duke of Wellington remained to take communion at his parish church, a very poor old man went up the opposite aisle, and reaching the communion table, knelt down close by the side of the Duke. Someone came and touched the poor man on the shoulder, and whispered to him to move farther away, or to rise and wait until the Duke had received the bread and wine. But the eagle eye and the quick ear of the great commander caught the meaning of that touch and that whisper. He clasped the old man's hand and held it to prevent his rising; and in a reverential undertone but most distinctly, said, "Do not move; we are all equal here." The Converted Hindu
"I am by birth," said a converted Hindu, "of an insignificant and contemptible caste; so low, that if a Brahmin should chance to touch me, he must go and bathe in the Ganges to purify himself. Yet God has been pleased to call me, not merely to the knowledge of the gospel, but to the high office of teaching it to others." Then addressing a number of his countrymen, "My friends, do you know the reason of God's conduct? It is this: If God had selected one of you learned Brahmins and made you the preacher, when you were successful in making converts, people would say it was the amazing learning of the Brahmin, and his great weight of character, that were the cause. But now, when anyone is convinced by my instrumentality, no one thinks of ascribing any of the praise to me; God gets all the glory."

God's Theater
The open-air theater in ancient Corinth attracted great crowds of people. The people who played in the theater were often quite famous. In our day we call them stars. Popularity and theater performances are almost synonymous. Paul told the Corinthians that God's theater is larger than theirs-that it extends under the vault of heaven. But the apostles were not leading the lives of popular theatrical stars. Their lives were not rich or famous. They were last on the social and economic ladder. Yet they performed with an audience larger than those who were swimming in pleasure. They had an audience above as well as an audience before them. Angels from above watched them, and men from every walk of life.

Mary Magnified the Lord
On one occasion an orchestra presented Handel's "Messiah" so beautifully that the applause was thunderous, and everyone turned toward the composer. Handel stood up and with his finger pointing upward, silently indicated that the glory should be given to God rather than to himself. This is exactly what the Virgin Mary did as she talked to Elizabeth. It is as if she were saying, "Don't praise me, but magnify the Lord who is my Savior."