Highway to Humility = Pathway to Joy

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  May each serving of our Joy Juice be spiced with humility!

            Someone once said, “Those traveling the highway of humility won’t be bothered with any heavy traffic.”  Truly, the attribute of humility is hard to find these days.  We observe false modesty and those who pretend to be humble.  But a true authentic Christian who exhibits genuine humility is the person who realizes he is nothing without God.  “To grow tall spiritually, a person must first learn to kneel.”

            The Word of God always says it best! In Romans 12:3, we read: 

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

My Bible footnote explains:  “Healthy self-esteem is important because some of us think too little of ourselves; on the other hand, some of us overestimate ourselves.   The key to an honest and accurate evaluation is knowing the basis of our self-worth—our identity in Christ.  Apart from him, we aren’t capable of much by eternal standards; in him, we are valuable and capable of worthy service.  Evaluating yourself by worldly standards of success and achievement can cause you to think too much about your worth in the eyes of others and thus miss your true value in God’s eyes.”

           Humbly accept your value in the eyes of God; and joyfully serve Him by serving others.

Christian Humility = JOY!

          Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Drink in the delicious taste of joy with great humility.  

            Many times throughout the Bible we find verses that speak of “humility”.  

•  1 Peter 5: 6 says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,”

• Proverbs 22:4 : “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”

•  And one of my favorites…Philippians 2:2-3 “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

We are to be humble.  That’s the opposite of what the world teaches. 

        As missionary Robert Morrison from China stated: “The great fault, I think, in our mission is that no one likes to be second.” The world has yet to see what could happen if everyone lost the desire to get the glory. Wouldn’t it be a marvelous place if nobody cared who got the credit? – J. Oswald Sanders 

True humility is when we forget ourselves and put others before our wants and needs. It has been said that humility is Christian clothing that never goes out of style. 

            Those who exemplify Christian humility exude JOY in the Lord!  

Humility, A Special Gift of Joy!

           Have you had your Joy Juice today?  In humility, we each should accept God gift of joy daily.

             I love to attend Sunday School! My parents instilled that habit in me when I was young.  I didn’t have a choice then….but, now I do and I still love Sunday School! It’s a place to be challenged to grow in our spiritual walk.

            For example, a few weeks ago, our S. S. lesson was on humility.  Our human tendency is to be “self-centered”, isnt’ it? To put ourselves and our desires before others. We can fall easily into the trap of spiritual arrogance.  

            Jesus gave us a parable in Luke 18:9-14 that teaches about the importance of humility:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

            May we humble ourselves before God and gratefully accept His gift of joy.