O’ Lord It’s Hard to Be Humble

A Texas rancher met up with a Vermont dairy farmer. The two men began talking about their land and the dairy farmer told the cattleman that he operated his business on 125 acres. The Texan laughed at such a small parcel of land. He said, "Yankee, that ain’t nothin’. On my ranch I can get in my truck at sunrise and I won’t reach the end of my property until sunset." The dairy farmer replied, "Yeah, I used to have a truck that was slow like that."

Bragging rights, Bragging rights everybody wants them.

Whether it is the biggest house, the fanciest car, the most impressive wardrobe, the most well behaved children, everyone wants to be top dog in some aspect of their life.

This desire to be first is also called pride, and God has something to say to those who have too much of it.

Now, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, wanted to be looked at and treated as though they were a step closer to God than anyone else. Just like many people today, the Pharisees wanted others to see them as special and treat them as though they were closer to God than anyone else.

They wanted others to be impressed with their piety and impressed with their holiness. They wanted others to think they had some special bragging rights that the common man lacked.

They were chest thumpers you could almost hear them say:, “Hey, look at me! Look at how important I am!”

Jesus said about these Jewish religious leaders:"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.” Matthew 25:5

Moses, in Numbers 15, had instructed the children of Israel to put fringes on their garments to remember, not only the law in general, but also the smaller parts of the rites and ceremonies belonging to it.

So the Pharisees made their “scripture boxes” extra large. They put more writing on them or made the letters larger and thus more visible, to appear more holy. And they made their fringes longer to show the world how they followed the finer points of the law.

You can be sure they did not like it when Jesus pointed out how "these men" dressed to draw attention to themselves. To put themselves on a higher level than others.

They wanted to appear religious without actually being religious. “…for they do not practice what they teach.” (Matthew 3b NIV) Their philosophy in essence was, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

These men thought they were important to God, they thought they were important to men, but they were just hypocrites. They wore a mask of Holiness. They thought they were going to be first in the Kingdom.

Yet, Jesus shares this truth: “….those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12) And He also said in Matthew 20:16: “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

God is not impressed with pride. God is not interested in how great we are. He is interested in how great others are as a result of our “lives”.

Miss Thompson taught Teddy Stallard in the fourth grade. He was a slow, unkempt student, a loner shunned by his classmates. The previous year his mother died, and what little motivation for school he may have once had was now gone.

Miss Thompson didn’t particularly care for Teddy either, but at Christmas time he brought her a small present. Miss Thompson’s desk was covered with well-wrapped presents from the other children, but Teddy’s came in a brown sack.

When she opened it there was a gaudy rhinestone bracelet with half the stones missing and a bottle of cheap perfume. The children began to snicker but Miss Thompson saw the importance of the moment.

She quickly splashed on some perfume and put on the bracelet, pretending Teddy had given her something special.

At the end of the day Teddy worked up enough courage to softly say, "Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother . . . and her bracelet looks real pretty on you too. I’m glad you like my presents."

After Teddy left, Miss Thompson got down on her knees and prayed for God’s forgiveness.

She prayed for God to use her as she sought to not only teach these children but to love them as well. She became a new teacher. She lovingly helped students like Teddy and by the end of the year he had caught up with most of the students.

Miss Thompson didn’t hear from Teddy for a long time. Then she received this note: "Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know. I will be graduating second in my high school class. Love, Teddy Stallard."

Four years later she got another note: "Dear Miss Thompson, They just told me I will be graduating first in my class. I wanted you to be the first to know. The university has not been easy, but I liked it. Love, Teddy Stallard."

Four years later: "Dear Miss Thompson, As of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. I am getting married next month. I want you to come and sit where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have now; Dad died last year. Love, Teddy Stallard." Miss Thompson went to the wedding and sat where Teddy’s mother would have sat.

She made a difference. She let God use her as an instrument of his love an instrument of encouragement.

Some of the greatest blessings in life come when we humbly realize someone else is more important than we are. If we want to be somebody, put others before ourselves. It is as simple as that.

Now we, as Christians are always under a microscope.

Are we living a life worthy of being called a “child of God”? Or are we just “a hypocrite wearing a mask”? Who are we trying to impress?

If we want to be great in God’s Kingdom be the Servant of all. Become great by becoming a servant. Become the greatest by being the servant of all.

A pompous-looking deacon was trying to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me a Christian?" the man asked. After a moment’s pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it’s because they don’t know you."

Christ Himself said that He “came not to be served but to serve others.” (Matthew 20:28)

What influences do we have or could we have with others? Our influence is measured by our willingness to serve others. True greatness lies inside of each and every one of us, and it is crying to get out. We just need to release it in service to others.

We cannot fool God. 1 Samuel 16:7 states, “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”God sees through our pretending and posturing. Our broad scripture “boxes” and long fringes do not impress God.

Being humble is hard.

Why? Because as soon as we believe that we are becoming more humble, we in essence are not humble anymore!

There is an older country song that begins like this:

Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.
I can’t wait to look in the mirror cause I get better looking each day

And ends with this verse:
Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble but I’m doing the best that I can.

--Mother Teresa
"Let no one come to you without feeling better and happier when they leave."

--D. L. Moody
"The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many he serves."

Greatness comes from service, and service comes from humility.

Remember our Lord’s words to us that were mentioned earlier:

“….those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”