Humility – The Prerequisite
The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. – Proverbs 22:4
As we wrap up this series in Proverbs (which we will come back to in the future – it has more to say!), we will look at the prerequisite for everything we learned: humility. Humility is a central theme of the Bible: God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. In order to become a christian, we must humble ourselves: admit our pride, admit our shortcomings, admit our need for a savior, etc. In order to grow as a christian, we must humble ourselves: we don’t have all the answers, we need wisdom, we need guidance, we need transformation. So the first step in growing in wisdom in the various areas of life – family, emotions, money, our words, friendships – is to humble ourselves. It leads to riches and honor and life. Ray Ortlund put it this way:
The theme of humility and openness and reasonableness and teachability is pervasive throughout the book of Proverbs. This book never stops begging us to keep learning. How can we grow in wisdom unless we are teachable? How can we change unless we are open to change? That upward growth trajectory requires humility. We walk into church saying to our Lord and Savior and Mentor, Jesus Christ, “We want newness of life, and we are coming to you for it. We are open to you. We are listening to you. Show us your glory. Take us further with you than we’ve ever gone before, further than we’ve ever dreamed of going.” That radical openness is humility, and he promises to honor that humility.
Join us Sunday, and next week on this blog, as we look at humility – what it is, how the gospel brings it and how we can grow in it.