Living Humbly

Jesus reminded his followers that we are not to live our lives for the purpose of being praised by people, but rather for the benefit and pleasure of our heavenly Father. In Matthew’s Gospel chapter 6, Jesus explained to his disciples that when they help others or when they pray, they are not to do so to receive praise from other individuals, but to help others in secret and to pray in secret. According to Hebrews 12:12, we live with a great cloud of heavenly witnesses. In giving us this teaching, Jesus encourages us to look at our heart condition and motivation. Jesus himself lived in this manner. In John 5:31-34, he explained to his followers that his own testimony concerning himself was not valid, but it was was what the one who sent him, God his Father, said about him that really counted. Jesus lived his life refusing to promote himself and teaches us to do the same. In 1 Peter 5:6-7, Peter wrote that we are to humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God and in the proper time he will lift us up. In examining the life of Jesus, I realized that humbling yourself before God was not a tactic to gain recognition some day, be lifted up, but was a continual lifestyle. Therefore, it is interesting to consider the possibility that when we have the world’s attention, we are backstage in heaven, and when we are offstage in the world, we are in heaven’s spotlight.