A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow
Day 2: Humility (Mark 10:31)
One verse in the Bible that I find hilarious is Numbers 12:3. It says, "Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth." I doubt Moses was the original author of that line, but it's still ironic to brag about someone's humility. It's like when Drax (Guardians of the Galaxy, vol 2) says, "I, too, and extraordinarily humble."
In all seriousness, though, humility is something I find incredibly lacking in much of today's world. We live in what we call an attention economy, where everyone is vying for your eyeballs, your ears, your clicks and likes and reposts, your wallet. Anyone with a smartphone can become an "influencer." Politicians are no better than pro athletes and rappers in trying to hype up their own brand.
To quote a Kat Stratford clap-back (10 Things I Hate About You) it's like these people are born on planet "Look at Me, Look at Me." From the time we're born we've been told how amazing and smart and beautiful and funny and talented and athletic we are. Some of us even begin to believe it. Humility is not a revered virtue, and now all we're left with are entitled people trying to get "internet famous" for a hot minute.
C.S. Lewis reminds us, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." We don't need to swing the pendulum the other way and become depressed with self-loathing. Confidence is not the opposite of humility. Arrogance is. Entitlement is. Self-esteem is not wrong. Self-aggrandizement is.
Jesus never had a "woe is me" attitude about anything. He never lost confidence in who he was or what he was meant to accomplish. Jesus rested securely in his identity as God's Son. He never tried to make much of himself, and he even told people not to tell others about him. Fame and fortune were not on his radar. He never did anything for the likes, the views, or the cred.
As we follow Christ we are called to deny ourselves. Let's sto