Stay Humble

 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. (Philippians 2:5-8 MSG)

The Scriptures describe Moses as “a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth,” until Jesus came, that is (Numbers 12:3 NIV). In fact, Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8 NIV). Yesterday, as I was rereading one of the well-known Palm Sunday passages, a word I had never noticed before jumped right off the page at me, “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9 NLT, emphasis added). It’s not that I didn’t know that Jesus was a humble man, but the fact that He is described as being humble even on one of the most glorious days of His life!

We live in an age where self-entitlement is prevalent. People who claim special privileges because of who they know or what they have. But that’s not who Jesus was. “He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion” (Philippians 2:6-8). And we’re called to be just like Him – gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29). As we journey to Easter, let’s follow in the footsteps of the humble Christ who gave His life for our salvation by living a selfless and obedient life.