“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 14:11
It will be much easier for me if I humble myself than if I must be humbled by external means. When pride rules in my heart I strive and strain, kicking against the restraint of rules, or responsibilities, or any of the circumstances God ordains to rein me in. But if I walk in humility, those implements which impose restraint will be worn comfortably.
My wife has recently had one of her life long dreams come true. She has a pony and a horse. She is now learning all sorts of new things about how to handle a horse. One of these things is that a horse needs to be humbled. And once humbled, it must be worked with regularly to maintain its cooperative state. If left to itself, for any length of time, it will become resistant.
Blaze, our new horse, is humbled, but Peaches the pony is not. Blaze can be led about with a gentle tug on his halter – Peaches resists and must be yanked around. The horse, while being much bigger than the pony, can be ridden by our young children. The pony can only be ridden by an experienced rider – one who knows how to kick and prod and keep her under control.
Both Blaze and Peaches wear the same kind of halter, and we use a similar bit and bridle on each when we ride them. But while Blaze yields to a gentle tug, Peaches has to be kicked and yanked in order to go where we want her to.
My wife will often take Blaze out of the fenced-in meadow and walk him through the yard and the adjacent fields where he can eat from the tall green grasses. As he is enjoying his munching, Peaches whinnies and gallops around in displeasure, having been left behind, alone inside the fence.
God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. He loves His children and therefore disciplines us for our good. He uses many devices to turn me from pride to humility. All of these devises, these means of humility, are from His mercy – and I need them. To be led about a horse needs to wear its halter, and a bit and bridle must be put on before it can be ridden. To maintain humility, to keep my soul in a state of happy compliance with God, I must also wear the means of humility – whatever they may be – just as a horse must wear its halter. If I remove the means of humility my wild, fleshly nature will soon re-assert itself. But if I receive the means without resistance they can be worn quite comfortably such that, at times, I may not even be aware of their presence. But if I struggle against the means of humility, not only do they become uncomfortable, but my inner outrage fusses and complains just like the pony blustering inside the fence as its partner grazes happily in the rich green meadow.
To be humble is a happy, comfortable and blessed condition. To be humbled hurts twice – it feels the intent of restraints and it boils inside with the vexation of pride which poisons the soul.
In contrast, while my humility is maintained, in part by external and merciful means, the humility of Jesus is perfect and complete. He needed no restraints to perfectly obey His Father’s will. How ironic that they bound Jesus with ropes as they led Him to the court. His humility and obedience were, in themselves strong as iron. What strength is there in a rope or a chain compared to the resolve and joyful obedience of Christ. I may need prods, but His compliance comes from a perfect contentment in the will of God. He submitted to the ropes, the chains, the nails, not because he needed to be held by external force, but because he stood in our place, as our representative, as our substitute. The ropes were our ropes. And if we faced the judgment of wrath we would by no means stand still; we would run, hide, and flee from our condemnation – if we could. And so, as a stand-in for us, He wore the ropes and was tied to the post and fastened to the cross.
Oh, to be humble! Lord, grant this blustering one humility and make me happy to walk in your green pastures. Grant me grace to humble myself so that I may walk about in all the fullness of your blessings – happily as you designed. Kill my pride and my kicking spirit – let me wear the means of my salvation with joy gladness. Thank you for the grace that can make this soul happy in your fields. Amen.“Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.” Psalms 32:9
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