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Feb 19, 2023 06:00am

The Position of a Learner

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Scripture has a lot to say about pride and humility, but let’s face it, these are not very
popular words to ponder. Humility gets a bad reputation because many perceive it as
weakness. Pride is perceived as either condemning or celebrated as self-confidence. Sometimes I wonder if we have forgotten what pride looks like and therefore don’t recognize it when we see it in others or in ourselves.

So, let’s begin with a working definition of pride. The type of pride Scripture teaches pride is an inflated, better than others, view of ourselves and is both sinful and self-destructive.

The opposite of pride is humility. Humility is a modest and accurate estimate of our importance.
Scriptures that condemn pride and encourage humility are numerous! Let’s explore a few together, and as we do, we’ll see humility could also be called, “taking the position of a learner”. This is necessary in our relationship with God and helpful in our personal relationships.

The first passages we will look at are ones that explain why humility is necessary to even be in a
relationship with God. Colossians 2:2-3, 9 lets us know that Christ is not just a man but He is also
God, who is all-knowing and all-wise.

I don’t know about you, but when I read these two characteristics, my thought is that I should learn from someone who is all-knowing and all-wise. We are neither all-knowing nor all-wise, and so it’s interesting that we often think we can criticize or reject the knowledge or activity of God in our lives. In verses 9-14 of that same chapter, Paul tells us that no tasks, accomplishments, traditions, or sacrifice is enough to make us holy in God’s sight. Because of His love and compassion for us, He erased the debt of our sin by the sacrifice of His perfect Son, Jesus. Paul is careful to let us know in verses 18-23, anyone
who is pursuing “self-imposed religion” is engaged in false humility. He says this because when
we are trusting in our own goodness or believe that we can achieve holiness apart from God,
this is pride. It can be confusing because sometimes those trusting in themselves will often claim devotion and submission to God.

Maybe you’re having trouble drawing the line between serving God with your life and this false
humility Paul describes. This is understandable. When we look at Colossians 3:10-12, Paul
continues to expound on being a follower of Christ. Paul talks about ways in which putting our
faith in Jesus, and allowing His Holy Spirit to live through us, transforms our desires, knowledge,
and perspectives to be more like the “image of God”. In this description, Paul says humility
(the willingness to admit a lack of knowledge and a willingness to learn from another) is a trait
of someone whose heart has been changed. False humility and self-imposed religion are self-
reliance, but true humility is an acknowledgement of our inability and a grateful response to
God’s removal of our sin debt. This is demonstrated in our words and actions.

Now, let’s explore passages talking about humility’s benefits to our relationship with God and
with other people. The first Scripture is in Psalm 25:8-9, The Lord is good and upright; therefore He shows sinners the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

Remember earlier when we looked at the passage telling us God is all-knowing, and all-wise? This passage tells us His love and goodness prompts Him to not only forgive sins, but teach His ways to those who are humble and willing to “take the position of a learner”. We are given the opportunity to learn of Him while resting in the righteousness He provides through Jesus.

Scripture also addresses how humility should impact our relationships with one another. Jesus
modeled humility in relationships throughout His life.

In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul encourages us, as followers of Christ, to love one another in humility. He says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. I
have noticed that the more we think and act selfishly, the more we want and when we are focused on what we want, the less importance we put on others. This is pride.

In Philippians 2:5-7, Paul encourages us to follow Christ’s example, who although He is God, was willing to assume human form and serve people while on earth. He was even willing to humble Himself to the point of dying on a cross for our sin. He was the ultimate example of humility.

In the remaining words I have, I’d like to share two more thoughts on humility within relationships. Romans 12:16 tells us to live in harmony with one another, do not be proud, and to not be wise in our own opinions.

This is another way of saying be humble and willing to learn from others in order to live in harmony. This encourages us to not think our own opinion is always the right one.

Please understand, I am not saying that we have to agree with every opinion of another person, but 2 Timothy 2:24-25 tells us a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but be gentle to all, able to teach, be patient, in humility correcting those in opposition, in the hope that God will bring them to
repentance. This point of ‘taking the position of a learner” serves to remind us of our need for
God, to help us to live in harmony with others, to show others they have value, and to
follow the example of Jesus.