Articles
Humility and Obedience
Humility and obedience are both qualities God expects us to have in our lives. God plainly expects us to be humble individuals (1 Peter 5:5-6). Qualities like being poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) and meekness (Matthew 5:5) are also required of the child of God and are closely connected with the idea of humility. Hebrews 5:8-9 clearly teaches the importance of obedience by saying, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience. Both of these qualities are required of the child of God and as we think about these two qualities they are really related to one another.
Humility is a view of oneself which does not view oneself of high esteem but lowly (Proverbs 16:18-19). Humility, as a result, leads one toward an attitude of submission. 1 Peter 5:5 speaks about how being submissive to one another is connected with us being clothed with humility. Humility is going to be something we have to acquire before we will ever be obedient to another.
Obedience is submission to someone else’s authority. A wife’s obedience to her husband (Titus 2:5) is a display of her submission to her husband (Ephesians 5:22). Obedience and submission are things a humble person finds easy to render to others and to God. Obedience and submission though are hard things for the person who has not learned to be humble.
The Old Testament demonstrates for us many times how a lack of humility leads people to be disobedient to God’s commandments. In the garden, one of the things the serpent appeals to in tempting Eve is the desire to be like God (Genesis 3:5-6). This desire would fit into the category of the “pride of life” (1 John 2:16). When we do not humbly accept who we are before God, it will be impossible for us to truly be obedient to God as we should. In 1 Samuel 15, God gives Saul a command to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:1-3). Saul does not obey the command but spares the best of the livestock and the king (1 Samuel 15:9, 19). It appears that one thing which contributed to Saul’s disobedience is his failure to be little in his own eyes (1 Samuel 15:17). When we begin to think too highly of ourselves, we will not obey the commands given to us by God. Naaman goes to Elisha the prophet to be healed of his leprosy. Elisha sends a servant to Naaman with instructions for Naaman to obey in order to be healed (2 Kings 5:9-10). Naaman’s pride initially seems to stand in the way of his obedience to the prophet’s command (2 Kings 5:11-14). When we reject a commandment of God because it is not what we thought it ought to be, we are acting just like Naaman and our pride is getting in the way of our obedience to God. King Uzziah began his reign well, “But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense” (2 Chronicles 26:16, NKJV). Uzziah’s pride leads him to disobey the commands of God.
Just as pride gets in the way of one’s obedience, humility leads one to be obedient to the Lord and others. When Jesus is asked, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1, NKJV). He points out the individual who has the qualities of a little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. One of those qualities we must possess is, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4, NKJV). Our humility will lead us to be obedient as a little child ought to be. Examples of this connection between humility and obedience would include Mary, the mother of Jesus. Notice what she says in Luke 1:38, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (NKJV). The first sentence demonstrates her humility. The second sentence demonstrates her willingness to obey. Jesus is certainly the greatest example of One who is both humble and obedient (Philippians 2:5-11). Philippians 2:8 says, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (NKJV). Jesus perfectly possessed the qualities of humility and obedience and serves as our example in this area (1 Peter 2:21).
James 1:21-22 says, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (NKJV). The end of verse 21 speaks about the attitude of meekness or humility we need to have in receiving the word of God. When we receive God’s word with meekness, we will not simply hear it but will be doers of the word. We will be obedient!
