Cultivating a Mindset of Humility
Author: Pastor Daniel Miller
June 01, 2024
Cultivating a mindset of humility
Philippians 2:1–11
As born-again believers, many, if
not most of us, recognize our own battle against pride. Pride is so intricately
woven into our nature as sinners since our first parents sinned against God and
then blamed everyone but themselves for the fall. This prideful act of sin led
to hostility with God, conflict with one another, and conflict with nature. It
is no wonder that pride and conflict are so closely related.
The apostle Paul understood this
relationship very well when he penned the letter to the Philippian church. The
church was growing spiritually and their love for one another was increasing
(Philippians 1:9). To further advance the gospel message, Paul wanted these
believers to have a particular way of thinking that would lead to unity in the
church and progress in the work of the gospel. He wanted them to cultivate a
mindset of humility (2:3). More specifically, he wanted them to have the same
way of thinking that Jesus had, which led Him to take on the limitations of humanity,
to put Himself in the lowest position as a servant, and to die the kind of
horrific death that came about through crucifixion. Paul didn’t command them to
do what Christ did, but rather to think the way He thought.
Philippians 2:1–11 instructs us of
the crucial importance of cultivating a mindset of humility, which leads to
unity in the local church. Humility will also lead to unity in other
relationships as well such as marriage, friendships, and work relationships. What
are some ways we can cultivate a mindset of humility and weed out the stubborn roots
of pride? Philippians 2 gives an abundance of application that we can put into
practice to help us develop the kind of humility that fosters thriving
relationships.
Here are 5 practices for developing a mindset of humility:
1. Obey Scripture
This first point may seem pretty
obvious to Christians. Of course we are to be obedient to Scripture! After all,
it is God’s spoken word that informs our faith and practice. What does
obedience to Scripture have to do with cultivating a mindset of humility?
The humility that Jesus exercised while
on earth was a humility that was 100% submissive to the will of God the Father.[1] Jesus
spoke with His Heavenly Father daily and submitted His human will to the Father
in all things. The human nature of our Divine Savior required a submission of
His human will to the plan of the Triune God. If that concept makes your brain
hurt a little, don’t worry. It is a truth about the complexity of our Savior
being both fully God and fully man that we cannot completely grasp.
Even though we don’t have the
audible voice of God to instruct us, we have the complete Scripture which gives
us all the revelation and instructions about God that we need to know for living
godly lives. Scripture speaks to us and reveals the will of our Heavenly
Father. Humility is needed to be 100% submissive to His will rather than our
own.
How many times have you and I read
something in Scripture that convicted our hearts, but we didn’t really like it
because the application was too specific? I can remember a time when I read
Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such
a word as is good for edification…” and thinking, “Surely God doesn’t expect me
to do this all the time! Sometimes you just have to blow off some steam and let
’em have it!” This is not receiving God’s Word with a humble attitude, but
instead comes from pride. Obedience to Scripture comes from a mind that is
cultivated by humility.
2. Listen to the advice of others
A prideful person invariably considers
his opinion to be better than everyone else’s and does not carefully consider
what others have to say. Pride in this area is like earplugs. You can only
faintly hear what others have to say and you are drowning it out with the sound
of your own voice.
Proverbs 13:10
highlights the conflict that is produced by drowning out the voice of others by
your own self-confidence. “By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with
those who take advice is wisdom” (ESV). To be insolent is to be rude or
arrogant because of pride. This kind of attitude inevitably leads to conflict
and disunity. A prideful person does not listen to the advice of others but
follows his plans and ideas.
On the
other side is the kind of attitude that leads to unity and harmony. This person
carefully takes into consideration the advice that others are offering him. He
does not quickly dismiss the perspectives, guidance, and suggestions of others.
This person not only has wisdom, but also has an attitude of humility. He is
not so full of pride that he cannot hear what anyone else has to say. This is
an attitude that is tempered by a mind that is being cultivated in humility.
3. Seek out counsel from others
Sometimes advice comes unsolicited.
Sometimes it is sought out. Advice and counsel are words that can be used
synonymously, but here I am specifically speaking of our need to seek it out
from a wise person or persons. Actively seeking out and listening to good
counsel from others is another byproduct of humble mind.
The book of Proverbs begins by speaking
of the foundation of wise living for a person’s life. Proverbs 1:5 describes one
such practice of the wise person: “A wise man will hear and increase in
learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel”. A wise person both
listens to the advice and instruction of others, and he actively seeks out the
wise counsel of others. God did not design for us to think, live, and operate
autonomously from one another. The need to seek out good counsel is a humbling
reminder to us that our own understanding is very limited.
One of the most damning statements
in the Bible is written about a people who perpetually followed their own
understanding. After presenting an awful story of gruesome sin resulting in a terrible
war with tens of thousands of casualties in a matter of days, the book of
Judges explains the reason for all these horrendous events. The last verse in
the book says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what
was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The people lacked humility
before the Lord and before one another. May that statement in Judges not be
said of any one of us!
4. Consider the rebuke of others
You have
heard the saying, “we all have blind spots,” which is true! God has given us
the instruction of His Word and a conscience to instruct us in the right way. Sometimes
we still don’t listen to either of those things and we need the correction of others
to point out when we have sinned or acted unwisely. So many times, though, we
justify our own actions rather than considering the rebuke of others. After
all, we have good reasons for doing what we did!
David
learned the importance of this truth in his life after committing the grave sin
of forcing another woman into an adulterous act with him. We learn from psalms
that he wrote during this period of his life that his conscience was accusing
him relentlessly after he sinned. His relationship with the Lord during this
time was impeded by his sin and he was fraught with guilt. When Nathan the
prophet came to David to rebuke him for his sin, David declared, “I have sinned
against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). Later
in Psalm 141:5, David prayed, “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and
reprove me; it is oil upon the head; do not let my head refuse it.”
May we be
like David and accept the reproof of others and not be like King Jehoiakim who
burned up the scroll containing a rebuke from the prophet Jeremiah (See
Jeremiah 36:23). King David received mercy from the Lord for his sin. King Jehoiakim
did not and was killed by the hand of his enemies.
5. Remember your own standing before the Lord
We have
several reminders in the New Testament regarding our place before the Lord. We
were once sinners, enemies with God, condemned for our sin, under God’s wrath,
and headed for eternal punishment. God is the one who demonstrated his own love
for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We
all come to the cross as equals, whether great or small, one race or
nationality or another, male or female. We have no standing before the Lord
based on our own merit, only by grace.
Romans 12:3
reminds us, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not
to think more highly of himself than he ought to think…” There is no hierarchy
among Christians as to who is more important than another. God has gifted
everyone with different gifts and abilities by the Holy Spirit for the purpose
of building up the church. He reminded the Philippian believer in Philippians
2:3-4 “…with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than
yourselves; not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also
for the interests of others.” We tend to think of ourselves more highly than we
ought to and consider our personal interests above the interests of others. These
verses remind us that this comes from a place of pride rather than humility. Considering
our own standing before the Lord will remind us that we are not more important
that another Christian. Considering others more important than ourselves is
accompanied with a mindset that is shaped by humility.
Cultivating
a mindset of humility is part of the sanctifying work of God that is worked out
in us by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This practice is not optional
for the believer. It is a command for us to follow and practice willingly. In Isaiah
66:2b God says, “this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and
contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
[1] See Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 5:8, and Luke 22:42.
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