Wisdom #4 Pastor David Staff The Wisdom Of Humility .

Wisdom #4Pastor David StaffThe Wisdom of HumilityProverbs 3:7-8Hi everyone. For just a moment, let’s take a brief glance into the rear view mirror. TheseSpring days, we’ve been mining for WISDOM: Life’s Priceless Treasure. So what have we unearthedso far in Proverbs chapter 3?Proverbs 3:1-2 offered that because the stakes are high, both Generation 1 (parents) andGeneration 2 (sons/daughters) are called in wisdom to fully engage in the value of handing offand accepting wisdom. “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep mycommandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.” There istreasure in purposefully handing off and taking in wise commandments.Proverbs 3:3-4 built on that. An appeal that Nothing can reward your life or my life than afrom-the core expression toward others of God’s love and faithful reliability. “Do not letsteadfast love and faithfulness forsake you. Bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet ofyour heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.”Last time together, Proverbs 3:5-6. The greater my active dependence on the Lord, theclearer my life’s path to the very best. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean onyour own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge (or know) Him, and He will make straight yourpaths.”We are half way through this 12 verse pursuit, but there is more to discover. Proverbs 3:7-8.Be not wise in your own eyesFear the Lord; turn away from evil.It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bonesWhat in the world are these verses offering to those who hound-dog wisdom? This incredible truthHUMILITY IS MY HEALTHIEST CHOICEI asked the all-wise, all-knowing resource we all have at our fingertips – Google! – this simplequestion. Do Americans make healthy choices? Simple enough, right? Here’s what the genie cameup with:1 P a g e Wisdom: Life’s Priceless Treasure #5

Q - How healthy is the average American?A – only 12% of American adults are metabolically healthyi. Which means 88% are more vulnerableto Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other serious health issues.Q – Does the typical American have a healthy diet?A - Assessed by established dietary guidelines, the average American diet consists of excesssodium saturated fat, refined grains, and calories from solid fats and added sugars. Americans eatless vegetables, whole grains, dairy products and oils than recommended. According to the PritikinCenter, “the typical American Diet is our biggest enemy”ii and “the average American diet is half junk”(according to Health ENews).Q – what about exercise? Do most Americans exercise?A – According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control, only about 23% of all U.S. adults getthe recommended about of exercise per week (150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exerciseplus two bouts of muscle strengthening exercise. 77% do not.Q – What about financially? Do Americans make healthy financial choices?A – Only 3 in ten Americans are financially healthy. 44% said their expenses exceeded their incomein the past year, and they used credit to make ends meet. 42% have no retirement savings at all. iii69% have less than 1000 in savings. 45% have no savings.iv And the average American now hasabout 38,000 in personal debt excluding home mortgages.What’s going on here? From what I’ve figured out, it’s called the INTENTION-ACTION gap.Simply put, the intention-action gap refers to the “difference between what people say they wouldlike (and even “plan”) to do and what they actually do.Researchers that “information” is not enough. Only two out of every 5 Americans get a flushot. What often gets in the way of a great plan or very good intentions is our habit to yield tosomething more immediately gratifying. I’ll eat the chocolate bar or the pie-a-la-mode because it just tastes so much better than thecold broccoli in the frigI’ll sit and watch yet another TV show instead of walking vigorously for 30 minutes because itsimply feels so much better to sitThe Mountain Dew instead of the water, the double cheese-crusted pizza instead of thespinach salad.The newest Cyclone or Hawkeye gear, on the charge card, rather than the stuff you wore lastyear and tucking some extra in savings.You know the drill. But the Lord calls us to not only have good intentions (mentally make goodchoices) but for those intentions/choices to shape the way we think and live every day. What isneeded to close the intention-action gap, Proverbs teaches, is genuine HUMILITY.So here are some key questions.2 P a g e Wisdom: Life’s Priceless Treasure #5

First - What is humility?Our English word “humble” comes from the Latin word humus, the word for “earth” or“ground.” The adjective humilis meaning "of the earth.” A “humble” person is someone who is“grounded.”But humility also comes from Biblical words. On the Hebrew side of your Bible, a number ofwords all with the idea “to bring down” or “to make low.” The Hebrew “ani” speaks of those who have been “brought low by the circumstances oflife, they are afflicted, poor, of humble estate” (Leviticus 19:10, 23:22)The Hebrew “kanah” speaks of those who have been “brought low” by a stronger power ornation; the are subdued (Judges 8:28)The Hebrew “tsana” speaks of someone who has made himself low, before God and others(Micha 6:8 – “to walk humbly with your God”)The Hebrew “shephel” speaks of what God can do to an overly inflated heart, a proudheart, a heart that refuses to bring itself low.” The king of heaven, Nebuchadnezzar learned,All his works are true and his ways are just, and He is able to BRING LOW those who walk inpride (Daniel 4:37)And on the Greek side of your Bible, the key word is “tapeinoo” which speaks of being abased, someone who intentionally steps down from “here”(i.e., high, up) to be there (i.e., low).Philippians 2 says that when God the Son came, he decided to take the form of a servant, to becomehuman, and in so doing he humbled himself not only to die as a human being, but to die on ashameful, Roman cross. So what is it?Humility is a chosen attitude about oneself withrespect to God and others in thought and action.Humility “lowers me,”rejecting prideful self-sufficiency whileembracing the greater importance of God and others.Perhaps no one said it better than John the Baptist when pointing to Jesus. He said, “He mustincrease; but I must decrease” (John 3:30).Second – How does someone choose humility?Andrew Murray’s classic Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness leads with these ideas:There are 3 great motivations to humility: it becomes us as creatures; it becomes us as sinners; and itbecomes us as saints. If we are to be humble not only before God but toward men, and if humility isto be our joy, we must see that it is not only the mark of shame because of sin but apart from sin, it is3 P a g e Wisdom: Life’s Priceless Treasure #5

being clothed with the very beauty and blessedness of Jesus. Humility is something infinitely deeperthan contrition. It is our participation in the life of Jesus.Murray then adds: When I look back upon my own Christian experience, or at the church of Christ asa whole, I am amazed at how little humility is seen as the distinguishing feature of discipleship. vHumility is a CHOICE. It is, in fact, my healthiest choice. It’s not a choice to condemnoneself. It’s not a choice to belittle oneself. Spurgeon had it right when he said “Humility is theproper estimate of oneself.” Taking seriously Proverbs 3:7-8 can help us understand what that is.First - Humility chooses to lower my own way of thinkingBe not wise in your own eyes 3:7aThis part of this wisdom nugget notes Bruce Waltkeprohibits being a know-it-all individualist who does it his own way,a state worse than being a fool (26:12; cf. Rom. 12:16).viYou’ve had conversations with this kind of person in your life, right? You’re talking together—maybe about a controversial or important subject – and you get the clear sense through the wholetime that the other person has already made up his/her mind.and worse yet, that the only importantthings that were shared came from them. He/she already considered themselves better than you. Iknow it all; I don’t need to hear anything or anyone else.Proverbs 16:12 “Do you see,” Solomon asks, “a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is morehope for a fool than for him.”I believe that this is particularly important when the two generations are talking to each other.Generation 2 – your mom, your dad, your grandparents should never dismiss what you’ve learnedand what you’ve experienced and what you feel about the important things in life. They should nevertry to make you feel like you know nothing at all. And, at the same time, you cannot afford to dismisswhat God has already taught Generation 1 as if you in your mid-teens or mid-twenties, alreadyknow it all. Humility a proper estimation of myself lowers my own way of thinking.Second - Humility chooses the right positionbefore God – Fear the Lord 3:7bYou know, there isn’t a time that I’ve not taught about or even discussed this command “Fearthe Lord” but that the same question arises. People ask, “Am I supposed to fear the Lord? Am I4 P a g e Wisdom: Life’s Priceless Treasure #5

supposed to be afraid of God?” And the short answer to those questions is YES. If you don’t have ahealthy, soul-purifying fear of the power and majesty and utter holiness of the God who is really there,from whose hand you/I are given our next breath, then the Bible suggests you may be a fool.But there’s more to it than that. The phrase “fear the Lord” in Scripture explains what someonewho truly fears the Lord does. Someone who rightly fears the Lord – Rejoices over what the Lord says to her/him, desiring what God says more than anythingelseEagerly takes the commands of the Lord and obeys themEnjoys as a habit of living the friendship of the Lord, and experiences the steadfast love ofthe Lord (In the N.T., as God’s children, we are urged to affectionately call God our wonderful“Abba,” our Father)Has special access to the wisdom of the LordWhen facing an opportunity to do evil, that which dishonors the Lord, turns away from it“It is evident,” John Calvin wrote, “that man never attains a trueself-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God,and come down after such contemplation, to look into himself.”viiNow if you’re looking at that quote, as I am, put your own name in place of the word ‘man.”“It is evident that DAVID (or your name)never attains a true self-knowledge until he has previouslycontemplated the face of God,and come down after such contemplation, to look into himself.That’s what someone who fears the Lord does. Choosing humility, she/he lowers theimportance of her/his own way of thinking and then in humility one fears the Lord -- seek to knowGod, realizing that is how she/he will best assess themselves. Which, of course leads toThird - Humility rejects the choices (the opportunities)of evil – Turn away from evil 3:7cLiterally, “turn off the road” or “exit the pathway.” Picture driving down the interstate whensuddenly you see trouble ahead, and you exit off.Temptations to sin--to think or do what is wrong --are presented to us every day. “Temptations,” Paul told the Corinthians, “are common to all people.”No one gets a pass on being tempted. I’ve been a Christian for 57 years. I was tempted when I was1 year old in the Lord, when I was 25 years old in the Lord, I am tempted every day in my 57 th year offollowing Jesus.5 P a g e Wisdom: Life’s Priceless Treasure #5