Walk Humbly

Some months ago I saw a “commercial” for a new app that would alert you anytime you were in the vicinity of someone who you might not want seeing what you were doing. Basically, it would enable you to live one way in front of some people, and another way with others (or when no one was looking). While the app is not real, and the commercial was made in jest, it does make you think. Am I holding a double standard? Are there inconsistencies in the way I live?

When I saw the video clip I was immediately struck with the ridiculousness of such a concept. It just sounded so stressful…among many other things. But the next day some friends were talking about it and commenting how they wished the app actually did exist. It got me thinking about what it means to be a Christian, what it means to truly follow Christ. At times we may grow weary of being a good example, of constantly having to live up to certain standards, and being under the scrutiny of others, but that’s exactly the point, it’s not about us. It’s only when we take our eyes off of Christ that we take up a burden we were never meant to bear.

The truth is that there is freedom in living an open and consistent life. How much more exhausting would it be to live different ways for different people? As Christians, we are not called to live for the recognition and approval of others. We are called to live humbly and consistently as we follow the light that God has given us.

Micah 6:8 says: “He has shown you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly,
o love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

God doesn’t want us to do things out of obligation or tradition, but because of conviction and a consecrated heart. In Matthew chapter 15 Jesus quotes Isaiah 29: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me. In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

When we just go through the motions, our heart is not in it and we are worshiping in vain. We say one thing yet believe another. Being concerned with what others will think is the opposite of humility. When we become consumed with ourselves, and preoccupied with the thoughts of others, we miss a precious opportunity, it is Jesus we need to fix our eyes on, not ourselves.

Matthew 15:10-13 says: “When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

I love that it says that Jesus drew the multitude to himself. He wasn’t just preaching at them, He longed to show them…for them to enter into what He was saying. And His life was a constant example for confused, exasperating people.

When Jesus is in us, we are able to reflect Him. We take on His humility, His love for others, His selflessness. This will always be more rewarding than living for our own desires. Let us turn our eyes on Jesus and walk humbly before Him.