The story is told that Benjamin Franklin once made a list of character qualities that he wanted to develop in his own life. When he mastered one virtue, he went on to the next one. He did pretty well, he said, until he got to humility. Every time he thought he was making significant progress, he would be so pleased with himself that he became proud — the very opposite of what he wanted to become.
There’s no question that humility is indeed an elusive virtue, for even Jesus’ disciples struggled with it. Once when Jesus learned that they had been arguing about who was the greatest, He responded by saying,
“If anyone desires to be first, he should be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
As an example of innocence and humility, He took a little child in His arms and indicated to His disciples that they needed to humbly serve others as if they were serving Christ (Mark 9:36-37; Mark 10:13-16).
Dear reader, if a news reporter were to talk to our friends, neighbors, or fellow church members and ask them to describe us, would they use the word “humble” in characterizing us?
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
There’s no question that humility is indeed an elusive virtue, for even Jesus’ disciples struggled with it. Once when Jesus learned that they had been arguing about who was the greatest, He responded by saying,
“If anyone desires to be first, he should be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
As an example of innocence and humility, He took a little child in His arms and indicated to His disciples that they needed to humbly serve others as if they were serving Christ (Mark 9:36-37; Mark 10:13-16).
Dear reader, if a news reporter were to talk to our friends, neighbors, or fellow church members and ask them to describe us, would they use the word “humble” in characterizing us?
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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