Your Rights vs. humility

We have done the hard work and looked at two lengthy passages--1 Corinthians 8 and most of 1 Corinthians 9, in which the apostle Paul told of his willingness to give up his personal rights for the good of the gospel.  Here’s my question for you:  WHY?  Why would Paul give up his rights for people he didn’t even know?  Oh, I understand that it was for the good of the gospel—that is to say, so that others would not stumble over his behavior, and not meet their Savior—I get that.  Buuuuut…why?  What was it within Paul that would move him to be more concerned about others than himself?

Let’s bring it down to where we live—why would I give up my right to do ‘thus and so’ for someone else, who I might not even know?  First, because

>I believe there is something at play that is far bigger, far greater than me….and second, because

 >I have come to a place within myself that moves me to a place of h-u-m-i-l-i-t-y.  

Humility is at the heart of all true character change, so it is quite a compelling subject.  What is humility? Humility is a modest view of myself.  A Scriptural understanding of humility means esteeming others more highly than myself; it means seeing others as God esteems them, and most importantly, it is seeing myself as God sees me.  Paul gave up his rights for the sake of others because they were highly esteemed in God’s eyes.  He humbled himself so that others might be exalted.  

“Who is wise and understanding among you?  Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”  James 3.17 

Kinda’ like this story:

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table.  A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked.

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

“Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?”  he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. 

The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.  When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.  There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies . . .

You see he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

H-u-m-i-l-i-t-y... Reminds me of this:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  Philippians 2.3-4.

So, how are you doing with humility??

Christine, www.pastorwoman.com