Kingdom Humility

Weekly Update – February 20th, 2025 

Last week we looked at what we called, Kingdom Humility, from Luke 6:37-49.  The most popular verse in this section though, is likely verse 37 which says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.”  Now, this verse isn’t calling us to forego ever passing judgement on anything in life.  Just two verses earlier, Jesus told his followers to “love your enemies” (6:35), and five verses later, Jesus compares good fruit to bad fruit (6:43).  Both verses require some form of judgement.  Therefore, the call here isn’t to refrain from all judgement, but instead, to judge rightly, seeing your own life with clarity, living fruitfully with proper desires towards others in our hearts as we stand firmly upon the truth of God’s word.  All of this will require a humility that should characterize those who are in God’s kingdom.

An example of someone who lived out this Kingdom Humility was the apostle Paul.  Yet Paul wasn’t a man who shied away from passing rightful judgement either.  In Galatians 2:11-14, he confronts Peter for wrong thinking, then in Galatians 3:1-6, he confronts the Galatians for wrong thinking.  All throughout 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians he confronts these church members for their actions, even at one point, threatening to bring a whip with him the next time he visits (1 Cor. 4:21).  Even so, Paul was not looking to criticize for criticism’s sake.  He simply dealt with problems and exercised judgment out of his faithfulness to Christ.

At the same time, when it comes to Kingdom Humility, we must realize that by nature, our natural tendency is not to offer encouragement.  In a classic Peanuts cartoon there is a picture of Linus curled up in a chair, reading a book to himself while Lucy stands behind him with a funny look on her face.  “It’s very strange,” Lucy tells him, “It happens just by looking at you.”  What happens?”  Linus asks.  Lucy answers, “I can feel a criticism coming on.”  That is how we view people by nature.  Why?  Because we are proud.  It takes an act of humility brought about by God in our hearts to want to show grace in our midst of rightful judgement.

Therefore, instead of looking for criticism in others, we ought to take a divine perspective.  Within the church, we are brothers and sisters who have been redeemed from the kingdom of darkness and forgiven of our sins.  We were once separated from God, but we have now been brought near through the blood of Jesus Christ.  As C.J. Mahaney in his book titled Humility says, “We must remind ourselves, this individual has been previously acted upon by God.”  Only when we take this divine perspective of seeing others as co-heirs with us in the eternal inheritance that awaits us will we be able to put aside a critical heart and look opportunities to build them up. 

Even still, with a divine perspective, what is it exactly that we are looking for? We are looking for areas where God is at work.  Consider looking for how the fruits of the Spirit (“joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23)) might be at work in someone’s life.  Look for how the Spirit has led someone to serve or to lead or teach.  Be mindful of how someone has shown faithfulness to God throughout circumstances and situations.  Look for “evidences of grace” as we seek to identify ways to encourage them. All of these ways and more will display a Kingdom Humility that we should long to create in our relationships with others.

In a culture where people are naturally moved to complaining and criticizing, lets strive to be counter-cultural as a church looking to build up and push others forward in God’s grace. May we not cast judgement without seeing ourselves clearly, but may we live fruitfully, with the abundance of our mouths speaking good (Luke 6:45), representing the kingdom of God, as we stand firmly upon the truth.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson