Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
In a world that valued self-exaltation, Paul called for humility and gentleness to define the church, something that was not the norm in that society. And this same humility and gentleness that Paul spoke of so long ago is just as important in today’s society, which we can argue would probably be just as out of place.
A few days ago in our word study, we learned that the Greek form tapeinophrosunēs was more than just a lowly attitude but also consisted of lowliness of the mind. This humility was a form of a deep-seated inner attitude and not just an outward act, one that demonstrated a lack of selfishness and a willingness to stoop to serve, rather than seeking position or praise.
And it is the same form that we find in today’s verse. In English we see the wording of completely humble. Completely. Not just partially. Wholly, fully, entirely humble. We set aside everything and we position ourselves in humility, setting aside our own pride and our own needs and instead focusing on others.
It is paired with gentleness and patience, signifying a “clothed” attitude of selflessness and grace (Colossian 3:12). These virtues are not natural for the majority of us and require us to seek out God’s help. Thinking about all that we have learned and what our response is supposed to be can be overwhelming and feel impossible. Completely? How? But we have hope because with God all things are possible, including things that don’t feel natural to us and require us to extend a lot of effort to accomplish.
Today let’s spend some time thinking not about how we can be humble and instead surrender and let God use us. Trust in Him to provide you with the opportunities and give you the “how” – and you simply obey.
Prayer: Lord, I want to be completely humble, wholly and entirely obedient to doing Your will in serving others and thinking of their needs first. Empower me to do this today. Amen
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