“Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” Proverbs 18:12 (ESV).
Everyone loves to receive honor. No matter how great or small your ambitions, it’s always a good experience to be honored, to receive acknowledgement and praise. But honor is a bit of a heady brew, which sometimes can turn the head of even a previously wise man. And as Solomon said, haughtiness of the heart comes before destruction. So what’s the answer? King Solomon tells us: Humility is both the antidote to haughtiness and the forerunner of honor itself.
It goes against the modern philosophy of achievement, doesn’t it? The world says, “look the best and promote yourself as the best, and you’ll deserve the best.” But God says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11, ESV).
We have just passed through the season of Advent, and, at the time of this writing, are now in Christmastide. This time of the year, we celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ, Whose Incarnation was an act of humility beyond any other. As the Apostle St. Paul put it,
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11).
Our Savior was the ultimate model to us of the Honorable Man. It is His example we should seek to follow in all things. And it is He that we should also honor above all things. But why should we honor Him? St. Paul tells us: because He, being God, humbled Himself to the point of becoming a man, like us, and dying a death shameful even to us, without any reason but His love for us and desire to save our miserable, sinful selves. This unfathomable willingness to humble Himself has earned Him the rightful honor, not only of every man, but of God the Father Himself.
There is nothing wrong with seeking honor, or even with loving honor. But the way to Honor, as Scripture tells us and as Jesus Christ so beautifully demonstrated, is Humility. Bearing burdens before seeking benefits. Taking responsibility before taking credit. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45, ESV).
Are we seeking to imitate our Lord and Savior in this area? Are we sincerely trying to do the work, to run the race He has set before us, regardless of how it might affect our dignity, our reputation, or our popularity? Is there any good work that is “beneath us?” Let us follow Christ our King, and pursue the path of Humility, for that, brothers, is the Road to Honor.
