What is Humility:

(To see the video of this article go here: Video)      

  Recently, I was made aware of a book by a very prized preacher of mine, C. J. Mahaney, "Humility: True Greatness."  I have not had the opportunity to read this cherished gift to the church, but I have read certain quotes and excerpts from it. On the record, I agree that authentic Christian humility, if not the main forgotten virtue, is definitely one of the most neglected virtues of the modern church. I am also motivated to write this article because my #1 article read on my website is about humility and brokenness before God. This is why I wish to continue this teaching by helping to provide a checkmark to see if your humility is of real heavenly value. Take note of the scriptures marking the importance of this god-glorifying attribute.

           1 Peter 5:6-7, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

          Isaiah 66:2, "On this one will I look: On him who is [humble] and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word."

          First, Peter makes a profound point that humble people are people who cast their cares on God to take care of. What this means is that humble persons realize and face up to the reality that they are weak, helpless, sinful and, therefore, in need of a Almighty and Gracious God to take care of them. Prideful persons, on the other hand, will not cast their cares on God because they think they can handle their cares. God says He resists such persons-wow! Who can bear the weight of a Being possessing infinite power to resist you!

          Peter also says we need to humble ourselves under the "mighty hand of God." What this means is that humility is the virtue or beauty when a weaker object faces up to this reality and with authentic joy submits themselves under the stronger who deserves to have that title because it's true; this is a beautiful thing. It is a right, beautiful and God glorifying thing for us infinitely weaker beings to happily humble and submit ourselves under the Mighty Majestic God who cares for us. It would be a dishonor any other way; it would be a cosmic insult, dishonor and sin against God on many levels. But we are sinners! How much more should we submit and humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, which should have been used to destroy us evil servants.

       In Isaiah, the word for humble is also translated as poor, needy and wretched. I believe this really homes in on this subject quite well. Also note that previously in Isaiah 57, God says that only the humble and brokenhearted persons will dwell and live with Him in Heaven! The standard or the definition of humility that God requires or is looking for is the only definition that matters. Accordingly, it is this standard that we should be concerned with, not the world's idea of it because the world in its wisdom did not know God! Their standard is of no concern for us.

       Since there is no human being who is sinless, other than Jesus, this makes the definition of humility forever particular for all humans! It means that always in the definition of humility our sinfulness and seeing our sin forgiven on the blood-stained cross is always present.

       God speaking in the book of Isaiah makes out the definition of humility to be like this: humility is really at its heart a broken heart! A heart broken over the fact, as we see how Beautiful and Wonderful our God is, that we are sinners against His Holy and Lovely Name. We are broken and filled with a poorness of heart because we see that the Glorious most Precious Son of God had to be slaughtered in order to have our sin against His Wonderful Name removed from us. We all know this feeling on the human level when we hurt a truly dear friend or loved one, we feel low and broken for hurting that person. Yet, a Christian who spiritually sees that their sin nailed the King of Love to the cross is broken in ways that are hard to express. This brokenness is so profoundly created in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that it distinctly translates in how we relate to others: humility. I ask how can anyone who honestly surveys the wonderful cross, where the royal blood of God's Son pooled on the earth, be prideful? [1]

Zeal, Humilities Twin Sister:

            With a proper understanding of humility, I will now demonstrate how humility has a twin sister who's name is: Zeal. What I will show is that without some level of godly zeal your humility will be shown to be unauthentic or without value. For the record, I will say that as much as the true biblical standard of humility is the lost virtue of the church the biblical standard of Zeal is as much a lost virtue of the church.

            First, what is biblical zeal? Good question but I would like to ask this one as well: is zeal even a Godly virtue? The apostle Paul answers this question quite bluntly for us: Galatians 4:18, "It is good to be zealous in a good thing always." No obscurity in those words.

          Titus 2:14, "[Christ] gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." As I looked up the Greek definition of this word "zeal," this is the basic understanding that I discovered: burning with passionate desire, fervently desirous, passionately contending for a thing. In this verse we are to be fervently desirous to do good works that Glorify[2] our God and Father in heaven. To be passionately filled with desire or zeal to glorify God in good works means you are passionately contending to love God, the final and chief end of your burning desires. Just like a husband who zealously does good works toward his wife at work by not looking immorally at the women there, not because him doing these good works themselves as the chief of his zeal, but does them with zeal because his wife is the chief fountain of his fervent and desirous love.

          This brings us to our next point. Zeal is a stream that flows from the head fountain of love. Zeal is that stream flowing from love, which is particularly the concentrated desirous passion to see the object of your Love exalted and honored in the true respect they deserve. Just as a mother with zeal for her child will gladly with deep passion correct a person who does honor their child in the light they know their child deserves. With this understanding we will see why our Lord reacted the way He did in the following verse.

          John 2:16-17, "[Christ] said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."

          As said before, passionate desire or zeal concerning something pertaining to a person is ultimately zeal for that person themselves. Therefore, Jesus is ultimately reacting to fervent desirous love to His Father. To see the temple of His Father dishonored as a marketplace stirs up our Lord's zeal. Zeal again is the love and enjoyment to see the object of our love and desires honor, as they should be. The Jew's were obviously not doing this. They were dishonoring the chiefest and greatest object of our Lord's love, His Father.  Therefore, the passionate desire to see His Father Honored as He should be was stirred up and so Jesus demanded that they stop making His Father's house a marketplace by physically driving the sellers out.

          In this light, what zeal does is authenticates our brokenhearted love for our God as genuine. [3] What good is your humble love of God demonstrated before the world if when God's name is dishonored you show or do nothing to express your distaste that your God, the greatest object of your love, was not honored, as He deserves? Your humble love toward God would be questioned as not humble love but that you were merely born with a meek human nature that has nothing spiritual or truly Godly about it. Jesus Christ our Lord, on the other hand, could not be accused of such a thing, for the world and God His Father saw His zeal for His Father' Name. Therefore, when the world saw Christ's humbled love they new it was genuine to and for His Father for it was tested to be true in the furnace of zeal!            

            Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, equal to God in intrinsic worth, showed the greatest humility[4] ever displayed unto the Glory of His Father's Name. But why did Christ do this; how could He do this; where did the strength of His humility come from? Deep passionate Love! The deeper and greater your love and adoring of a person, the stronger your humility becomes if they are in the same manner rightfully above you.

          This is why zeal is humility's twin sister. They both stream from love. Therefore, without zeal or humility your love will be in question! You cannot have one without the other. Humility gets its strength from her sister fervent zeal for God! Christ was not a created creature or a sinner but the only beginningless Son of God the Father. Yet He was the outshining of the Father, not the Father as the outshining of the Son. Christ said the Father is greater than Him[5]. Therefore, Christ out of His infinite zealous love for His Father was able to show deep humility for Him that has ever been known. If the greatest object of your love that is greater than you and your love will be expressed in two main ways: humbleness and zeal. These two together will validate your love is real. Christ again is the supreme example. He proved His love for His Father when the Father, who is greater than Him, as Christ states it, humbly and meekly obeyed His Father coming to earth and dying on the cross. Christ did this without question but did it with delight. Psalm 40:8, "I delight to do Your will, O my God."[6] Then Christ proved His love and humbled love toward His Father was genuine when zeal ate Him up when He did not see His Father honored, as the love burning within His heart desired for Him to be.

            Likewise, we are able to show true depths of humility for God to the degree we recognize our sin, recognize God's endless Excellence of Grace and Power; it is in this our zealous love for Him grows. God the Father and Jesus are of equal intrinsic worth, with the Father only being greater as He is the only original Fountain, if you would. But we are infinitely less worthy being a created being and more infinitely less worthy being sinners who dishonored our Great God's Name. We have been saved and now see the true worth of our Holy God and see the awe-inspiring view of His beauty seeing that He stooped so low to save us sinners. Accordingly, we should bow ourselves in the dirt with the lowest humility and burn with Zeal up to the highest sky in our hearts for Him! It should be our greatest honor to humbly submit to our good King and our greatest hope to show Zeal any time the moment calls for it.

          This is the pendulum that keeps the balance of our humility and zeal on the biblical scale of correctness. Growing in our zealous and humble love together for our wonderful God-at the same time! The level of our holiness is really nothing other than love unto God. And when you begin to break down love, humble brokenness and zealous desire are the two basic streams from it. From these two do all the other streams from love do flow. This is why having these two love qualities authenticated is such a high importance. If both or one of these are not found at all, then there is not love for God in the heart. A Christian who is mature in both of these is one who shines more distinct rays of light, with more resemblance of Heaven's true light, unto the Glory of God, than those who do not. These are the Christian who, being more like the Bread that came down from heaven, are the sweetest smelling aroma to God, having being kneaded by the Spirited are prefect in the oven of the gospel.

Last thought:

          The final word that I would like to give is one of warning! I would warn, to what I have come to believe, is the greatest modern enemy to both biblical humility and zeal.

          Revelation 3:16-20, "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' -- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked -- "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

          This passage is to the church of the laodiceans. This church was living in some type of material wealth and blessing. This is why Jesus said they think they are rich, being rich of world (or worldliness) but not rich in their love, walk and holy zeal for God! Our Lord urges them to find the more blessed treasure of being more closely united to Him and not this world. Then He commands them in their sin, (Yes it is sin to find more worth and satisfaction in the world than Christ), to repent. But He goes one more step further in defining what this "true" repentance is.  Be "zealous" and repent. I am convinced our Lord used this word because it is exactly what they were not: passionately in love with their God. They were so zealously filled with this world they had no more zeal left for God! Below is an excerpt from a Journal I wrote not too long ago.

          I have discovered, through too much trial and error, that being or spending time with vain or trivial things (i.e. TV, movies, Internet, spending with church members doing activities together (while not actively having Christ exalting truths proclaimed or mercy, although not directly ungodly)) is just as deadly as destroying a Christian as outright sin is. Accordingly, neutral-ness, triviality, or banality in wordiness has just as much power to corrode and ruin a good soul just as horrible sins of adultery, lying, hating, bitterness, idol worship, etc.

          Although it might not corrode as quickly as a more serious sin, it does over time. This is why it is so deadly. By the time a Christian realizes that they are being too trivial or vain, becoming lazy and lethargic in Holiness, they do not care anymore! That is the real power this American culture has on the church today, even the better parts of it.

          The one real power that the Christian posses that fires the actions to be real, godly and proactively lived unto the Glory of Christ is: Holy Affections of the soul! Triviality kills these holy affections in a slow and numbing death [7]

            Therefore, my plea to my readers is do not let this wealthy American culture eat up your holy zeal for God, for it will and by the time you realize it you won't care anymore! I do not know the specific things in the culture that numbs both your humility and zeal for God, but you do! If you do not know what those specific things are then ask your good God to show you. That is a prayer, which He will always answer. And as He does answer that prayer He will also lead you to the cross of His Son where you will be showered with truth: healing, forgiveness, sanctification. Let it be known today that it is here in this fertile soul that your humility and zealous love for God will grow.

          I pray that at the end of the day your professed love for God will be shown and authentic by true humility and zeal as you stand by faith at the Cross and see the Lord of Glory crucified for your sins. Is your love proven for God in humility and zeal or can the culture claim this for itself as you meekly watch hours of numbing questionable TV (etc...) and zealously voice up to tell all the honor you believe your sports (etc...) team deserves, that your love has been proven to be authentic for it! Do not be a fool, for God knows the numbers. He knows at the end of every hour, day and week what your humility and zeal authenticated as your true love! It is best, now, to face up to your sin and zealously repent while today is still here and not forced on the Day of Judgment. I pray that they rebuke to you and I by Christ is of a loving God as it is proven in true zealous repentance.

        Oh God my Father, grant to my readers a sincere heart of broken humility and zeal. Keep their love for your Son burning like hot coals in their hearts in this present trivial age.

        Keep your Children from idols, from the idols of this culture, least they be caught up in it so much that they find they do not care any more for their God.

        I have come to know that your love, being proved by mercy, is stronger than I am. I, therefore, know You can keep your own!

       Oh Lord, it seems, with your call for purity in the mist of this evil, trivial, entertainment-driven culture, that I feel like you have placed me on the edge of a cliff! All the while as I look below, there seems to be a bed of gold glimmering in the water of this culture. But if you have called me here, and this cliff is to be my battle ground, then all I have is one prayer for my fellow saints in Christ and myself. Keep me! Oh my Precious God. Keep me! Amen

Yours in Christ together striving to make His fame known:

Oshea Davis

 [1]To know more, see my article on my site: Broken Hearted Love (www.osheadavis.com)

 [2]Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 [3]To help bring this point home here is an example of me writing about how in order to love you must hate as well. "In order to love you must also hate to prove your love is authentic! You must hate evil if you wish to prove your love is true. In order to love you have to hate as well. In other words, if a parent received news that their child was tortured and molested, that parent would immediately feel and express both anger and hatred toward the person who did this toward their beloved child. This is how the parent proves their love. Is it possible for a child to believe their parents love them if mommy or daddy never expresses anger toward persons who badly hurt them? If a parent showed no anger and hatred to the person who badly hurt their child we would think this parent really does not love their kid.  I remember telling my mom, as a small boy, when another boy hit me at school, how she would blow up at such a thing done to me and remember feeling in my heart how much my mother cared for me by her anger toward this person who hurt me. This is why I say that in order to love you must hate evil things done to the object of your love, for if you do not you demonstrate your love to be false and without value."

 [4]Philippians 2:8

 [5]John 14:28

 [6]See also Hebrews 10:7

 [7]This comes from my January 1, 2008, journal entry found on my website: http://www.osheadavis.com/ - Here is a continuance from that same Journal:

"Furthermore, if you are to actively grow in Holy affections, from the soul, for the Lord Jesus Christ, then you must constantly eat Christ's body as your food and drink His blood as your daily drink. John 6:55-57, "My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me." To feed on Christ is to be constantly in sincere repentance, singing songs of love in your heart, prayer, and filled with God's word in your soul, just as you constantly drink and eat everyday as your need and pleasure. Christ must become this to you and me!

            But what I have found is even if you can accomplish the above with some decent progress, it will also just as quickly corrode and be wasted, in a good measure, if you fill it with banality and trivial entertainments. It is like a glass of pure water, representing your soul, and every time you dive into triviality it adds a drop of blue food coloring to the water. Having a drop or two will not be such a problem, but the more you add the cloudier the water gets. Accordingly, so goes your desire and holy affections for Jesus Christ. People fill their lives with this, although not out rightly evil, but just simply trivial cloudiness in their lives and then wonder why they are not filled with the joy and peace of Christ the Lord.

            I feel God's call upon my present generation in this culture and I do not wish to miss it. I must, by the grace of God, live with purity, but not cleanliness merely, but also with overrunning Holy Affections burning within my soul for Christ. I must not let this culture to cool it down. It seems at times impossible, but the love of Christ that He has toward me, and my love and fear for Him compels me to do push and fight to Honor Him with all my life in this present trivial age."