Message from Pastor Leo

November 01, 2008

I remember a joke running around the Internet not long ago.  It was a couple of imaginary book titles poking fun at people with big egos.  The first – “Humility and How I Attained It.”  The sequel?  “The 10 Most Humble People and How I Picked the Other 9.”

Humility or being humble is a misunderstood trait.  As Christians, we know we’re supposed to be humble, be most of us don’t really know what that means.

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:3-4 KJV

This isn’t telling us to think “low” of yourself. It doesn’t mean to stop bragging and downplay your abilities.  If you just do that, you are actually thinking about yourself, and that’s not humility.

Humility or being humble is just thinking of yourself less.  Said another way, humility is thinking of yourself less often - and thinking of others more often.  How about an example?

In the next three verses, we are given the ultimate example of humility.  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

Jesus thought more of you than He thought of Himself.  Your salvation was more important than His own comfort – more important than His rights as a King.  Your salvation was more important than His very life.

Now, imagine if we all lived our lives with that same kind of true humility.  We’d be praying for each other instead of for ourselves.  We’d put each other’s needs above our own.  We’d take care of others instead of seeing to our own comfort.

Read your Bible.  Read it every day.  Get more and more of Jesus inside of you and allow Him to make you more humble from the inside out.  Read your Bible.

May the Lord Jesus Christ Be Magnified!

Pastor Leo A. Giovinetti