Matthew 5:5 (ESV)
Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Romans 12:18 (ESV)
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all
Numbers 12:3 NIV
(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
Matthew 11:29 NIV
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Luke 13:31-32 ESV
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“31At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.”
Acts 5:17-32 ESV
The Apostles Arrested and Freed
17But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20“Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
As believers we have a kingdom; yet, we belong to earthly kingdoms and nations. We crave peace with all and for the most part quiet, content lives. We have been given a mission in this world, and in every age it’s the same; make Him known. Peace and compromise are not the same, and we have crossed this Rubicon in the west where Christians will not have peace without compromising their beliefs. Corporations will close their doors. Promising political careers will die. Aspiring artists will never make it on screen or on stage if they don’t compromise. In fact, voicing your belief about traditional marriage in public can open you to fines and civil penalties. Granted, we have to use wisdom on how we address a host of issues, and we still need to understand, at the end of the day, it’s the offense of the Cross that creates enemies for us. Jesus stated in Matthew 11:6, “Blessed is anyone who is not offended by me.” Well it seems that the majority of the world is now offended, and that brings us to the paradox of submission and some of the thorny issues surrounding it. I’ll seek to clarify.
God’s Authority and Man’s
God has clearly laid out in Romans 13 that we are suppose to follow the authorities he sets over us. Further, in 1st Timothy 2:2, he states that we should pray for those in authority. Here’s the rub, man has set up his own kingdoms, structures and religious practices, most of them in defiance of God. The scriptures are letting us know, not to cause waves and be disruptive because of our own selfishness. The scriptures teach us if we are following God, we will cause waves because of the work he calls us to do. Should a believer in North Korea, China, or Iran not preach the Gospel? As the west becomes more secular, should believers cease to speak about the things society or the civil leaders no longer want to talk about because of the consequences? God has instituted the authority structures of all nations, no matter how vile. His people will be subjected to the leaders who are in fact under the control of Satan. 1 John 5:19 tells us, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
Throughout the ages, God’s people have clashed with those people and their structures. They did not cower beneath them. In fact, God has never stopped speaking to the authorities of the day through his people. It’s his express desire to do so during periods of divine intervention in history. All of the great manifestations of God were collisions between his authorities and the authorities previously set in place. I believe we are at the beginning of another age, where collisions will occur as nascent ministries emerge that will shake the world and church once again. Right now we are in an age of lethargy, because of the complacency of believers. We are nearsighted and unable to see the corridors of eternity and capture the joy that will propel us forward.
In eternity’s place, we seek the temporal approval of the authorities of the day and the things they can offer us. Historically, God’s people did not care about the praise or support they received from influential people. They laid their lives down, and did so humbly. The agents of their demise were cowardly, religious, and political tyrants. While alive — they lovingly and defiantly, spoke truth to power, realizing it would bring about their end, and a new beginning. They had true humility.
Humility is a mindset and a disposition of the heart. It’s a factual reference point that a person returns to again and again while engaging in life’s pursuits and holy calling. To make matters simple, a humble person knows their place in the scheme of things, and more importantly, they know God’s place in the scheme of things. Humility is the beginning of all spiritual journeys and it is only when a person maintains this state of heart and mind that God entrust them with true spiritual things. The Bible affirms that the meek and humble will inherit the earth and that God’s dwelling place remains among them. Satan and his followers have all rejected humility, pursuing their imaginations and puffed up pursuits. Steeped in self importance, they become worthless spiritually.
Isaiah 57:15 WEB
“For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
The most troubling aspect I have witnessed over the years among Christians is the way biblical humility has been taught. It has manifested itself into a docile, deferring disposition that seeks to please anyone considered to be in a position of authority. It teaches us that to please the One who is over all creation, we must please someone else first. Subject to the fickle dispositions of the human heart and cultural, doctrinal, and geographical trappings, we never outgrow those we have subjected ourselves to. Many folks raised in western church culture have adopted this view of humility. The scriptures that I cited at the beginning of this article clearly show us what humility looks like. The fact is, throughout the ages, humble folks clashed with the authority structures of their day regularly, not because they sought not to overthrow them, they wanted to simply make known the one true God. The authorities of the day held political, religious, scientific, educational, economic, and legal centers of power, and they sought to maintain preeminence in the minds of men. They actively persecuted anyone or group that threatened their position. The church, in its true form, always received persecution.
Jesus promised that people serious about him would be persecuted. He also pointed to the last days when nations, collaboratively, would once again turn on believers and attack them. This would cause a great falling away within the church. (Read Matthew 24) True believers will stand with a defiant humility that will provoke the nations. The make-believers and spiritually immature, driven by fear, will run for the false protection of a world system designed by the evil one to ensnare and enslave. This is where we are headed as the world continues to destabilize. My friend you can look for safety in a crumbling, decaying system, or you can reject it and embrace an eternal kingdom. You cannot look to please both or pledge your devotion to both. You will ultimately humble yourself to one and defy the other. Do you have a defiant humility? If not, you will need it.