Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:10
James first introduced humility because of the fighting for leadership in the Church.* We live in a world that emphasizes effort and skill and encourages self-promotion. This way of the world should not exist in the Church.
When we attempt to exalt ourselves by our own abilities, status, or money, we will find failure; God will humble the proud.* Jesus warned of this in Luke 18:14:
All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
James reminds the Church of this saying of Jesus (which had become a motto in the early church) through His words in verse 10.* Today, we must receive the words or we may too fail to walk in humility. What does receiving these words have to do with humility? Humility is not a passive nature, but it’s a receptive posture.* How do we know if we are humble? One clue is the way we respond to a notice that we need humility. If we reject the invitation to humility, thinking that it’s something that we already have possession of, we demonstrate that we do not.
God’s Kingdom operates in the opposite mentality of the world. As Guthrie shares about the Kingdom of God,
The way “up” is “down”; the path of freedom is submission; the road to joy is walked in mourning and with tears. Yet the end result is grace. The Lord lifts those who, recognizing their sin, repent, bowing before him in submission.
It’s important to note, that while God will humble the proud, there is an opportunity for us to choose this humility through humbling ourselves. To humble oneself, one must engage in remorse and repentance for our sins, but it involves more than that as well.* To walk in humility, we must walk in repentance in the presence of God.* True humility involves a posture coupled with the presence of God.
How many times do we feel sorrowful and then isolate ourselves from God? God wants you close; humility stays close to God despite failing.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to return to His presence and stay there. Perhaps today God would have you abandon your efforts for promotion in favor of trusting Him to promote you as you humble yourself. Maybe today God wants you to live by His Kingdom rules even if they feel upside-down.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, pp. 194–195). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 256). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 4:7–10). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 243–244). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (p. 229). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, p. 153). Word, Incorporated.