<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, whoever humbles<\/strong> himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.\u201d^{[1]<\/sup><\/p>\n}

Winston Churchill is reputed to have said of Clement Attlee, the post-war British Prime Minister, that he was \u201ca modest man, who has much to be modest about.\u201d This was not, of course, intended to be taken as a compliment. Churchill was suggesting not that Attlee had many significant abilities and achievements about which he could be modest, but rather that his abilities and achievements were of such insignificance that modesty was the only appropriate response.<\/p>\n

This typically amusing Churchillian put-down hints at what it means to be humble like a child \u2013 and this is something rather different from what we adults tend to think of as humility.
\nFor adults, humility generally entails us playing down our abilities and achievements, and setting aside any advantages associated with our position and power. It is, if you like, behaving as if we did not have these things.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, humility such as this is not something that we see very often in little children. In part this is because they are too young to realise the necessity for humility, or even truly to understand what humility is. More to the point, however, is the fact that there is little or nothing in their lives that they are able to play down or set aside, even if they wanted to; for their abilities are limited, their achievements are small, they have no position or power. To mimic Churchill\u2019s comment about Attlee, they are humble and they have much to be humble about.
\nAs such, the humility of a little child is not so much an attitude of mind as a state of being, a fundamental part of whom and what they are. Indeed, the word \u201chumble\u201d can literally mean \u201cnot rising far from the ground\u201d, which is a perfect way to describe these \u201clittle ones\u201d, whose size dictates a very real physical humility: small, and powerless and weak.<\/p>\n

In their letters, both Paul and Peter exhort the early believers to \u201cclothe yourselves with humility.\u201d^{[2]<\/sup> This phrase is suggestive of what it means for adults to be humble: it is something that we \u201cput on\u201d \u2013 at best, from a desire not to \u201cshow off\u201d what we are and what we have: at worst, simply to cover over our pride.<\/p>\n}

In contrast, childlike humility is not so much a \u201cputting on\u201d as a \u201cputting off\u201d; a giving up of our desire to have and our desire to be; a giving up, even, of what we have and what we are. To be truly humble like a child is to have few possessions, a lowly position, little power.<\/p>\n

For this was the way taken by Jesus. His humility entailed an actual, physical change in his circumstances, a very real \u201ccoming down\u201d. His was the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour of God.^{[3]<\/sup> He had everything, yet he made himself nothing; he chose freely to give it all up, to let it all go. He set aside his divinity to take on our humanity. Leaving his eternal home with his Father in heaven, he came to live a life here on earth: a life of service and of obedience and ultimately of death on a cross.[4]<\/sup><\/p>\n}

And he came as a helpless baby, totally dependent upon his human parents for protection and provision, for all that he needed to survive and to grow. We are so familiar with this story that we seldom feel any shock at the idea of Almighty God making himself so vulnerable; we can hardly envisage things happening any other way. And yet Jesus could just as easily have appeared on earth as a fully grown man, ready to embark upon his adult ministry. Instead, he chose to share the full extent of our humanity and to show the endless depths of his humility, by becoming a little child.<\/p>\n

Such an understanding of humility could have a profound effect on how we live out our faith. Many Christians and many churches desire to do something \u201csignificant\u201d for God \u2013 and, of course, this is in many ways a laudable aim. But what this can translate to in practice is a desire to become significant ourselves: to gain more prominence and to increase our influence \u2013 not, of course, for our own sakes (perish the thought!), but rather that we might be better equipped to \u201cimpact\u201d the world for God.<\/p>\n

Now there is no doubt that there are individuals and churches that are called upon by God to take on such \u201csignificant\u201d roles: to be high-profile, to be influential, to be \u201csuccessful\u201d \u2013 and far be it from me to call into question the reality of any such calling. I would, however, question whether this is the path that God wants most of us to take. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul tells us about the type of person that God chooses and uses to fulfil his purposes. And rarely is it those whom the world would consider to be wise or influential or important; rather, it\u2019s the foolish and the weak and the lowly and the despised. He chooses \u201cthe things that are not \u2026 so that none may boast before him.\u201d^{[5]<\/sup><\/p>\n}

What a telling phrase this is. We want to be \u201csomething\u201d, yet God chooses those who are \u201cnothing\u201d. We fondly believe that the more we bring to God, the more he will be able to use us. But God doesn\u2019t need us to bring him anything; indeed, it seems he would almost prefer it if we didn\u2019t. For he is the One who delights in creating something out of nothing; who in the beginning spoke into the darkness and brought forth the heavens and the earth. How much more, then, is he able to produce whatever he desires from the \u201cnothingness\u201d of our lives. As others have said, the only ability that God requires of us is availability.<\/p>\n

Speaking to his disciples of his impending death, Jesus said to them, \u201cI tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.\u201d^{[6]<\/sup> Fruitfulness and abundance, it seems, must come through humility and death: first and foremost through the death of Jesus, then through each of us dying to our own selfish ambitions and desires. Just as a seed is literally humbled in falling to the ground and entering the soil, so we in humbling ourselves come into that place from which true growth and increase will come. And throughout history there have been countless men and women of faith \u2013 the vast majority known only to God \u2013 who have done just this, and whose lives of humble service have been the channels through which God has touched and transformed the lives of individuals, families, communities, countries, even the whole world.<\/p>\n}

The kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom, a topsy-turvy kingdom: where the first are last, and the last are first;^{[7]<\/sup> where the one who rules is like the one who serves;[8]<\/sup> where those who seem to be weaker are indispensable;[9]<\/sup> where those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted;[10]<\/sup> where the greatest is a little child.[11]<\/sup> If we truly desire to \u201cmake a difference for God\u201d and see his kingdom come, then we need to do things God\u2019s way and not the world\u2019s way. There is no need for us to try and ape its attitudes or mimic its methods. Nor do we need to compete with the world in order to try to prove God\u2019s power, with an attitude of \u201cAnything you can do, He can do better.\u201d Rather, we need to learn to walk the way of \u201cinsignificance\u201d, seeking to be \u201cnothing\u201d rather than desiring to be \u201csomething\u201d, learning to love and serve in gentleness and humility. If we are willing to do this then God himself will take care of any \u201csignificance\u201d in what we do. After all, in the seeming insignificance and failure of his earthly life and death, Jesus achieved something of the greatest significance for all humanity, whose effect will be felt throughout all eternity.<\/p>\n}

^{[1]<\/sup> Matthew 18:4
\n[2]<\/sup> 1 Peter 5:5; Colossians 3:12
\n[3]<\/sup> 1 Chronicles 29:11
\n[4]<\/sup> Philippians 2:5\u20138
\n[5]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 1:26\u201329
\n[6]<\/sup> John 12:24
\n[7]<\/sup> Mark 9:35
\n[8]<\/sup> Luke 22:26
\n[9]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 12:22
\n[10]<\/sup> Matthew 23:12
\n[11]<\/sup> Matthew 18:4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"}

\u201cTherefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.\u201d[1] Winston Churchill is reputed to have said of Clement Attlee, the post-war British Prime Minister, that he was \u201ca modest man, who has much to be modest about.\u201d This was not, of course, intended to be taken as a compliment.… Continue reading Humbles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":128,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2k38J-cB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/781"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":988,"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/781\/revisions\/988"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.asachildbook.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}