Being humble can be a tricky choice to make, especially in a world where you are likely to be trampled on by others or even taken advantage of. But it is a wise thing to live in humility; most importantly in humility to the word and will of God and living in obedience to it.
A lot of us are quick to pray and ask God to reveal to us His will for our lives. We ask the Holy Spirit to order our steps and guide our feet and blah blah blah. Question is, when God’s word is revealed are we humble enough to firstly accept it and then most importantly obey it by doing as is required of us?
“If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind. For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides]. Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God]; and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away.”James 1:5-11 AMP
Don’t try to earn your way. Grace is a free gift, but you ought to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. These are the two sides of the Christian faith. Works and virtues don’t earn you salvation or favour with God, but how will anyone know what you believe if it is not evident in your lifestyle?
“Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us]. So get rid of all uncleanness and all that remains of wickedness, and with a humble spirit receive the word [of God] which is implanted [actually rooted in your heart], which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]. For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like. But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].”James 1:19-25 AMP
It might sound like a ridiculous thing to stand in the mirror and see a reflection of yourself but forget what you look like a while after walking away. This is however a reality for many of us. We ask God to speak to us and when His words comes, we hear it but soon forget because we are not doers of it. Remember the parable of the sower where there were four types of ground that received the seeds the sower spread abroad. There was the wayside, the stony ground, the thorny ground and the good soil.
The wayside ground is too obsessed with the vanities of life making it easy for the birds of the air to steal the seed and indoctrinate them with foolishness. The stony ground is too proud and shallow minded and hence the word is unable to gain roots. The thorny ground accepts the word but allows the cares of this world to infiltrate their lives. They easily get distracted and lose focus making the seed wither before it has the chance to bloom. It takes a humble person who is willing to prepare their heart in readiness for the season of the seed to embrace the word of God and obey it.
Remember those days in school when it was believed that the smartest students asked the most questions? I wouldn’t necessarily agree that that theory is valid. What I however believe is that their questions revealed one of two things: a hunger and desire to obtain knowledge just to satisfy some level of curiosity or their genuine interest in the subject matter not just for the moment but for a long term ambition. Either which way, they had a teachable spirit that was humble enough to seek knowledge.
And even for those who were shy to ask questions, most would make a conscious effort to read further and research to obtain more information way after the class is over. Going to the library, for tutorials and group studies were all ways to get a better understanding of a subject one was truly interested in or at least wanted to pass in. The life we live is a test on its own. Wouldn’t you rather go the extra mile to have a better understanding of how to navigate it with ease while relying on the Creator (God) who has freely given us a blueprint/manual (The Bible)?
May we be humble enough not just to ask (seek, knock) but also to live in obedience concerning what God instructs us to do. May grace be sufficient for us to make our faith steadfast. May we also have humility to substantiate our faith with good works.
With Love, Esinam.
Virtuous Living 
Amen🙏
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