The Power of Humility in a Self-Centered World – September 28, 2025

Micah 6:6-8, James 4:1-10
September 28, 2025

I’ve been giving you some “contrasts” lately.  A couple of weeks ago, when we celebrated our leaders, my sermon was  “God’s Plan for Leadership – in a World Consumed with Power.  That was the contrast.  Jesus said that the rulers of the Gentiles “lord it over them.”  “But.” he said, “whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”  That’s quite a contrast!

Then last week, my sermon was about “Finding the Peace of God – in a Troubled World.”  In that sermon I talked about hate, and how it drives so much of the news of the day and the troubles of our world!  I talked about the power of negative emotions, like hate and fear and anger.  And I reminded you of Paul’s words to the Philippians, where he contrasted that with, “the peace of God which passes all understanding that will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

A number of you responded to that sermon.  And I thank you!  That means a lot to me!  But one person said something a little different about that.  She said that one of the biggest negative emotions to her was “Greed.”  And I said I wasn’t sure if greed could be considered an emotion, but it certainly is a driving force in our world, and not for the better!  (Of course the lesson there is, be careful what you say to a preacher.  You might hear it later in a sermon!)

Well, that got me thinking about another contrast – another contrast between our faith and the ways of the world.  This week my sermon is entitled “The Power of Humility – in a Self-Centered World.”  And that’s quite a contrast!

Now first off, humility is not so much an emotion as it is an attitude.  Humility is a state of mind.  It is a way of looking at one’s self, and, as Paul said to the Romans, “not thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think.” (Romans 12:3)  And if you don’t know it, humility is a huge word in the Bible, especially in the New Testament.  It can be found in the earliest words of Jesus himself, when he said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  There’s a whole sermon right there, isn’t there?

That stands in contrast with our world, in which humility seems all but lost!  Instead, self-promotion has become the norm.  Self-centeredness has become the standard.  And I’ve come to believe that we’ve even institutionalized self-centeredness!  We’ve encouraged it!  I’ve heard people “counseling” others – sometimes in a clinical setting – and saying to the other person, “You have to do what’s right for yourself first, then you will be able to deal with others.”  And I can just see Jesus cringing at those words!

So, we read from the book of James this morning.  And as you may know, James is a very “practical guy.”  He gives a lot of practical, down-to-earth advice about the living of our faith.  And I have to say that his writing appeals to me, because, as you may know, I’m a practical person, too!  I’m the son of an engineer.  (I think James may have been the son of an engineer, too!)

Well, as I read James chapter 4, it sounds like a direct response to the news of our day!  “What causes war?” he asks.  “What causes fighting among you?  Is it not your passion?”  (And you can throw in some negative emotions there!)  “You desire and you have not.  So you kill.  You covet and you cannot get, so you fight and wage war.” (James 4:1-2)  

Isn’t that what’s happening all around us?  And isn’t greed part of all that?  How about the Old Testament word “Covet?”  And we could expand that out and think about what other problems in our world are caused by people’s “desire to have?”  We could talk about the “desire to have” power.  And we could think back on what I said before about “God’s plan for leadership in a world consumed with power.”  And it’s safe to say that “greed” is part of that desire for power!  And make no mistake!  Greed is at the heart of self-centeredness.

To all of that, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”  And notice, the meek are blessed, not just because God loves the meek!  They’re blessed in that they live a blessed life free from all of the difficulties caused by putting the “self” first.  Do you get that?  They’re blessed in that they live a blessed life free from all of the difficulties caused by putting the “self” first.  Oh… and they shall inherit the earth!

Jesus was giving people a new perspective, a new vision, of a more peaceful world.  Later he said, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 32:12)  Paul would tell us that self-centeredness causes strife and anxiety.  But meekness and humility lead to peace.  And so here would James.

Humility is a word we need to rediscover in our world, and certainly in our Christian faith.  Because that self-centeredness of the world worms its way into our lives and into our psyches without us even realizing it!  It plays on our innate instinct for self-preservation – which is a good thing.  And it can control us simply because we perceive the world through our own eyes and our own understanding.  If the devil has a plan for us, it’s to get us to narrow our view of the world so we only see our own world!  Think about it.  It’s not easy sometimes to accept someone else’s vision of something, or someone else’s understanding.  It’s too easy to think, “I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes!”  Or as one man once said, “I won’t believe it unless I put my fingers in his wounds!”

Now, as far as humility goes, I’m sure there are people who are humble by nature.  And God bless them!  Either that’s just part of their nature, or they were brought up in an environment where humility was practiced and encouraged.  But I suspect for a lot of us, it is we who must do the practicing.  Because being humble is not easy!  It takes practice!  But as James knew, and as Paul knew, and as God knows, it is the thing that makes for a better, more peaceful life.  And James and Paul would both say that’s what God wants for us – a more peaceful life!

But there’s even more to Humility than that.  Humility has been called the “Queen of all virtues.”  It’s been called that because it’s at the heart of all the other virtues!  It’s been said that, “Without humility, courage can become reckless pride.  Without humility, wisdom turns into arrogance.  Without humility, justice can become self-righteousness.  Humility grounds us.  It reminds us that every gift we have is from God, and every good thing we do is by his grace.”

Sadly, the “world” doesn’t get that.  Because the world doesn’t even like the sound of the word “humility.”  To many, it sounds too much like the word “humiliation,” a word that’s abhorrent to them.  For many, the meaning of those two words is just a little too close for them to accept!

But what the world doesn’t get, is  that true humility isn’t about putting ourselves down!  It’s about putting God and others in their rightful place.  It means seeing ourselves honestly, it means thinking of ourselves “no more highly than we ought to think.”  It means seeing ourselves “with sober judgment.”  When we seek humility, the other “virtues,” like patience, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness – all great New Testament words – come more naturally to us.  Because we no longer feel the need to prove ourselves or to elevate ourselves above others.

But even more than that, when we “get out of our own way,” when we give up the need to be the first and the best and to be in the spotlight, it is very freeing!  Many of the sources of conflict, and competition, and anxiety are gone!  And because of that, humility is powerful.  It’s uplifting!  Because it’s living our lives without feeling the need to constantly measure ourselves by the stature of others.

Even more than that, though, humility is our “calling.”  Listen to what Paul said to the Ephesians, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  And how do we do that?  “With all humility and meekness, and with patience, forbearing one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:1-2.)  To the Colossians, he wrote, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)  And to the Philippians he equated all of this with the example of Jesus himself.  “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.”  Then this.  “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus!” (Philippians 2:3-5)  Be humble because Jesus was humble!

Now, I know I’ve hit you with a lot of scripture today.  But I wanted you to see how important this is.  And I wanted you to see that Paul and James were in total unity about this!  There are some who thought they didn’t agree.  They thought James came down a little too much on the side of “works righteousness,” rather than emphasizing Grace, like Paul.  Martin Luther was one of them!  But I don’t think so.  I think James just gave the more practical approach.  I think he and Paul were completely together on many things.  And this is a huge one!

In the end, James is very challenging on this.  He asks a tough question here.  “Do you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God.”  There’s that contrast!  “Friendship with the world is enmity with God!”  That should make us all squirm a little.  And I think a big part of what he meant by that is friendship with the world’s attitudes.  He’s telling us that the self-centeredness of our world, and the humility God calls us to, are mutually exclusive.

That’s quite the challenge!  So James offers a simple – and, of course, a practical – solution.  His final exhortation to us is this.  “Submit yourselves to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee.  Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”  In a world that says, “Lift yourself up,” James says, “Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Prayer

Eternal God, sometimes in our confusing and troubled world it is hard to discern your ways.  Help us indeed to “get out of our own way,” and see beyond our own little world.  Save us from the temptation to measure ourselves against others.  Help us to measure ourselves instead against the stature of Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, and our example.  And all these things we pray in his name, Amen.