S4 E26 - Aspire To Be Humble

I was at Starbucks the other day when this lady came in wearing a shirt that made me do a double take. It said, "Not aspiring to be humble." Wow...it's one thing to be proud out of ignorance. It's another to be proud by choice. 

Without humility, we cannot love. Without humility, we cannot be transformed. Without humility, we are enemies with God and without grace. Aspire to be humble. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

Welcome back to season 4 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Thanks for tuning in! 

Inspiration for these podcasts comes from all different kinds of places throughout the week. Often times it comes from something that is said or done by one of my children, as our kids frequently teach us important lessons. The same can be said of nature, a frequent teacher on this podcast. Sometimes they come from a current event, something that we all are aware of taking place such as a natural disaster or some massively viewed event like a game or a fight. And no, don’t worry, today’s podcast is not about Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul tonight. Yet from time to time the source of inspiration behind these episodes simply comes from the day-to-day interactions that I have with others. Today’s podcast actually comes from an interaction that I did not have with someone, only something that I was able to observe and yet to me was deeply disturbing. It all started with Starbucks’ release of their holiday drinks. I generally do my work throughout the week at one of several local coffee shops, but on this particular day I was craving an iced gingerbread oatmilk chai latte, so I found my way to the green mermaid. I set up shop after ordering and started in on my work for the week, planning out future lessons and lining them up with different calendar events that are taking place over the next several months. Usually while working I am pretty zoned in, and quite frankly sometimes I can be fairly oblivious to my surroundings when I’m really locked in.  But someone walked in to pick up a mobile order that stopped me dead in my tracks. They probably weren’t in the store for longer than a total of 10 seconds, from walking in, grabbing their premade drink and the counter, and walking out. It wasn’t until this lady turned around and began walking out that my eye was dumbfounded by what she was wearing. She wasn’t wearing anything out of the ordinary, mind you – she had on a white t-shirt with an unzipped hoodie over the top, paired with jeans and some tennis shoes – a quintessential casual American outfit. It was what her shirt had printed upon the front in bold black all uppercase letters that had me do a double take. Upon reading it a second and third time to make sure I was not mistaken before she escaped from view out the side door again, it said the following: “NOT ASPIRING TO BE HUMBLE.” Um…wow. I just sat there speechless for a moment after her exit…not aspiring to be humble? See, it’s one thing to be arrogant and proud but we are unaware of it, we do so in ignorance.  As a whole, I believe most people make it their aim to not be arrogant and proud. But for someone to go as far as to print in bold face on their shirt a message for all to see that they have no desire to be humble? Well, that’s just about as proud as it gets, and intentionally so. 

Of all of the virtues that we are called to aspire towards as Christians, I believe that humility is among one of the most foundational and one of the most important. Why would I make such a statement? Well, for starters, it is impossible to love others if we do not aspire to be humble. We read in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that, “love is not arrogant”. While pride seeks the good of one’s own self, humility seeks the good of others in love. This is exactly what Paul discusses in Philippians 2:3-4 when he writes, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.” To truly love others, we must place their interests ahead of our own interests and serve them rather than serve ourselves. Such a task is impossible without humility, because we will have no desire to serve others, but rather ourselves as pride considers self-interests to be the most important. To say that we do not aspire to be humble is to say that we do not aspire to love others.

Not only is love impossible without humility, but transformation through the work of Christ, the Scriptures, & his Spirit are likewise impossible. This is what James has to say in the first chapter of his letter, “Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:21-22) James does not merely say that the Scriptures will save our souls, but rather that it has the power to do so. What is the key to its saving power? To connecting us to Jesus and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit? Humility. We must humbly receive the implanted word, because without humility we see no need for change. That is why immediately after this James would go on to say that we must be doers of the word, not hearers only – lying to ourselves. Pride considers the words of Christ, but never considers that they apply to themselves. The foundational work of the gospel is in humility to come to Christ as a sinner, repenting from who you have been and what you have done while submitting to the Lordship of Jesus. To say that we do not aspire to be humble is to say that we do not aspire to be disciples of Christ. 

But I think more than anything else, if we zoom out to a ten-thousand-foot view, James makes it so clear why humility above all must be what we strive for in our lives. Citing the Psalms and Proverbs, he would write: “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)  It is by grace that we can be saved through faith, and without the grace of God we are still completely lost in our sins. Above all in this life, we must strive to receive the grace of God. But if we reject humility, and puff ourselves up in pride, we actually place ourselves in a position where God will directly oppose us rather than exalt us. Without humility, there is no grace. Without humility, there is no hope of salvation. To say that we do not aspire to be humble is to say that we want to be enemies with God. 

My friends, let go all of all pride and arrogance. Aspire to love. Aspire to be transformed. Aspire to receive God’s grace. Aspire to be humble. 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 4 episode 26 – and I’m so thankful that you decided to tune in today! A new episode is dropped most Fridays, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, as well as share it with someone else – it would help me greatly in trying to reach others. And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.