Whoever Humbles

Day 34: Matthew 22:34-46, 23:1-12

“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” - Matthew‬ ‭23:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Matthew seems to spend so much time focusing on greatness. From slaves to children, he challenges us on how we view ourselves and each other. He uses the Greek word tapeinoo here for “humbled” and “humbles.” It can also be translated as “to lower or decrease in size.”

If we view ourselves as having more value than someone else, we will always hesitate to serve them. I mean, isn’t the goal of this life to become so successful that you can have other people do the hard work for you?

Jesus would say no. He not only said this with His mouth, but He also said it with His life.

Jesus was never above stooping down low. Aren’t you glad this was the case? He touched the unclean. He washed feet. He spoke with rejected women. He chose those no one else wanted to choose.

Paul said it well when he wrote: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich,” and "being found in human form, he humbled (tapeinoo) himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (2 Corinthians 8:9, Philippians 2:8)

Jesus' humility made room for his incredible love, which gave us the greatest example of servant-leadership the world has ever seen.

Has your pride stunted your ability to grow in love and as a leader? Choose humility and let's see what God will do next through you.