A September greetings to you from Inspiration from a Blind brought to you monthly by www.ShirleyCheng.com !
Do you give to everyone what you owe? Do you give respect to whom respect is due and honor to whom honor? (Romans 13:7, World English Bible) When we rise from our seats to greet a newcomer, help an elderly person across the street, care for our parents when they are in need, and abide by the laws of our government, we show our humility, giving to others what are rightfully due: love, honor, and respect.
True humility comes from the heart. Only when we have a humble heart will we able to reflect humility through our actions. How can we learn to be more humble? We can learn to be humble by following in the footsteps of a humble person. If you wish to seek a role model whom you can mirror, look no further—look at the supreme example of humility: Jesus Christ.
Now, let us briefly examine Jesus' life and works to see how we can learn to be humble, both inwardly and outwardly. This passage in the Bible sums up his humility:
Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn't consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5, 6-8)
Valuable lessons we can learn from this passage:
1) Regardless of how rich or how famous we may be, we should never think too highly of ourselves and refuse to lower ourselves in order to help others in need. Even though Jesus was very rich, he gave it all up and became poor for our sake, as Paul wrote, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9) Jesus is the very Son of God; prior to coming to Earth for his ministry, he lived with his Father, Jehovah, in heaven, surrounded by angels. He had everything in the world. Yet, he gave it all up and came to Earth. Jehovah miraculously transferred him to the womb of Mary, and he became the human son of a poor carpenter named Joseph. Because of his sacrifice, we have become rich through him, for now every one of us has a chance of an everlasting life with God as long as we believe in him and follow his commandments, which are to love God and love others as we love ourselves.
2) Our lives should be lived for the benefit of others, not only for ourselves. Jesus knew that the two greatest commandments are "love God" and "love others as we love ourselves." Thus, he fulfilled both commandments by dying for us. Would you risk your life for a stranger, or for someone you don't like? Truly, one will hardly die for others, even a righteous man. (Romans 5:7) But while we were murderers, adulterers, liars, cheaters, and rebels, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8)
3) We must owe no one anything but love, even if that means obedience unto death. Because of his undying love for us, Jesus endured a terrible death. He was betrayed by his disciple Judas, denied thrice by his disciple Peter, captured in the middle of the night by a mob with torches, accused of many falsehoods, spat at, beaten with fists and a reed, slapped, mocked and insulted, forced to carry his instrument of execution to his execution place at Calvary; and finally, nailed to a stauros (Greek word for "stake" or "pole," not necessarily a "cross") under the blazing sun, and left there to die a slow and agonizing death—all for our sake. And on top of it all, he never opened his mouth to defend himself, nor did he show any hatred to his accusers and murderers. On the contrary, he asked Jehovah to forgive them: "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
What an epitome of meekness and self-sacrificing love! If Jesus could abandon his heavenly home to die for us, surely we can do the very least by respecting our neighbors and lending a helping hand!
During his earthly ministry, Jesus shared with us the key principle of humility. He said:
"If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest. The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people." (Matthew 20:26-28, CEV)
"Whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else." (Mark 10:44, NLT)
If we truly desire to be great, we must humble ourselves. Meekness enables us to become low enough so we can be reached. How can little children reach out to you if you were a giant ten feet tall? So humility allows us to serve others whole-heartedly. Ultimately, humility allows us to serve our Master: Jesus Christ. Certainly, the least we could do is return his unconditional love, right?
So next time when you feel you are "too good" to show respect and honor to those "lower" than you, remember what Jesus went through for you. We should count others better than ourselves, "not just looking to [our] own things, but ... also to the things of others." (Philippians 3, 4, WE If you need help to be more humble, ask God for Him to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you; the fruit is Christ-like qualities that include meekness. Imagine yourself having the mind of Jesus! What treasure that will be!
~*~Q&A with Shirley~*~
This month, I've decided to feature a question that I know many have asked and wondered about; it's a question that is often accompanied by criticism. While Jehovah Almighty does not need defending, especially not by little ol' me, I cannot help but set everything straight for His eternal glory. If someone insults your best friend, would you remain silent or would you vehemently defend them? Jehovah is not only my Best Friend, but my Creator to whom I owe my very existence.
Question: In the Old Testament, why did Jehovah order Israel to kill all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan?
Answer: Jehovah repeatedly made known in the Old Testament why He ordered all Canaanites annihilated: it was because of how extremely evil they were. The annihilation of the Canaanites was like the great flood in Noah's days; it was purposed for the same reason—to remove evil people from Earth—but it was on a much smaller scale, as it concerned only one land as opposed to the entire world with the great flood.
How evil were the Canaanites? Their evil acts included but were not limited to burning their children alive to sacrifice to their false gods, incest, bestiality, female and male prostitution, orgies, homosexuality, witchcraft, consulting mediums and fortune-tellers, adultery, murder, and rape.
To those who criticize Jehovah of being unfair and unjust (as if they were somehow more righteous than God!), please keep in mind of these points:
a) Jehovah is an absolute holy God who is always a lover of justice; whatever He does is righteous. No one, absolutely no one has to worry about God being unrighteous and unjust.
b) Jehovah NEVER harms a righteous person along with the unrighteous. Prior to destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (which were in Canaan), Jehovah promised that He would not destroy the cities if there were ten righteous people. When there were less than ten, He destroyed the cities—but only after rescuing one man and his family first. Jehovah also did not order the annihilation of all Canaanites until the evil deeds of the people reached their maximum. Finally, let us not forget that prior to the great flood, Jehovah rescued the righteous Noah and his family. Indeed, God does not destroy the good with the bad. And prior to destruction, He gives many, many warnings, pleading the people to turn to Him and do good. Killing is God's last resort, so evildoers would not be able to continually harm others.
c) Jehovah does not enjoy ending people's lives. Instead, He asks all people to do what is good and right. Note what He said: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways. Again, when I have said to the wicked, You shall surely die, if he turns from his sin and does that which is lawful and right— If the wicked restores [what he took in] pledge, gives back what he had taken in robbery, walks in the statutes of life [right relationship with God], without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins that he has committed shall be [seriously] remembered against him; he has done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Yet your people say, The way of the Lord is not perfect or even just; but as for them, it is their own way that is not perfect or even just. When the righteous turns back from his [uncompromising] righteousness and commits perverseness and iniquity, he shall even die in and because of it. But if the wicked turns back from his wickedness and does what is lawful and right, he shall live because of it. Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not perfect or [even] just. O you house of Israel, I will judge you, every one according to his own ways!" (Ezekiel 33:11, 14-20, Amplified Bible)
d) Jehovah is focused on what is eternal, while we are more inclined to look at the present. When God sentenced people to death, that doesn't necessarily mean eternal death, for He can resurrect them (raise them from the dead), and this is exactly what He will do on Judgment Day—all those who have ever died, both the righteous and the unrighteous, will be resurrected. All will be judged and be given a final chance to live. Those who still want to do evil will die for a second time, and this time, they will never be resurrected again. Jehovah gives many chances to sinners; that's why He sent Jesus to die for us—Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
e) Jehovah is the Creator of all and the Life-Giver of all. If He wills, He can destroy the entire universe in a split second, and absolutely no one has the right to protest a single word! He gave us life as He willed, and He can take our lives away anytime if He chooses. How could we, the created, dare question Him and criticize Him? Jehovah does NOT owe us anything. Conversely, we owe Him everything!
Jehovah will carry out the final destruction of all evil people in the future to leave only the righteous behind. Since the beginning of humanity, He has given us countless warnings and pleas to repent and turn to Him. Would you listen to His plea, and return His love for you? Then put your trust in His only Son, Jesus our Messiah, and love this holy Father-Son team!
"Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)
To live a life acceptable to Jehovah, we must clean up ourselves in both our flesh and spirit. "Defilement of flesh" refers to wrong things we do in our body, such as fornication, murder, lying, slandering and gossiping, cursing and dirty talking, and stealing. Defilement of the spirit includes sins we commit in our innermost selves, including pride, hatred, lust, selfishness, greed, and jealousy.
Our motivation for living a holy life should stem from the "fear of God," which refers to reverence fear, a fear that is based on love, not one that is based on threat. We should fear of breaking our Heavenly Father's heart. By living a life He approves of, we show Him respect, honor, and love. Surely, it's the least we can do for Jehovah who has given us our very lives, and Jesus who died for us! Our ultimate aim in life should be to bring them joy.
Don't make God frown; make Him smile!
Until next month, let us give love, honor, and respect to whom they are overdue: Jehovah and His Son, Jesus!
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If you need help to be more humble, ask God for Him to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you; the fruit is Christ-like qualities that include meekness. Imagine yourself having the mind of Jesus! What treasure that will be! 