… It’s Hard To Be Humble!?

TUES., FEB. 24, 1998, 11:55 AM
FARM, STUDY

You, and your Wednesday group, are moving through the Gospel of Luke, and there is much to question and puzzle over, even as you have read… and underlined… many of these passages and stories before. Yet I always promise that when you turn to a Teaching from Me, Holy Spirit, you shall profit more than you would “on your own”. I did call you, and you are here… even as you have some concern for your aches and for your muumuu left hand.

You are not an arrogant person, but neither are you genuinely humble. You just have some tendencies toward both extremes. And the balance is… “pretty good”. You reiterated some of your accomplishments, early in life, and then your decision not to seek positions of power and influence. That was a right decision (and I did have some quiet influence), for it has allowed you to serve Me in some important, unique ways.

Yet the teachings in this portion of Luke are a bit unbalanced. If everyone in your church were truly and comfortably humble it probably couldn’t continue as a viable group. In this complex culture there is need for leadership and for some who have full confidence in themselves and in what they can do. You, of course, have some of this. You achieved in your career, and you confidently went for the education and the degrees that were necessary for the position in life that you wanted. In your coaching years you felt that you had to “beat others out”, but that was not a sustainable attitude for you. Your spirit of competition has been appropriate to your personality, but not overdone. And in these latter years you have enjoyed not having a need to compete… in finishing off your career in a rather humble fashion.

Despite these stories and sayings attributed to Me by Luke (who wasn’t with Me, actually) I could not, as Jesus, be called truly humble. If I had been as humble as I seem to be extolling I would not have been feared and would not have been crucified. For, finally, it was statements such as, “Yes, I am the Messiah” and “I am God’s Son” (far from humble) that were responsible for My crucifixion.

After My death, as Jesus, I came back and cornered Saul of Tarsus, a man who was not exceedingly humble. With his “election” and the charge I laid upon him he was humbled, but he also had the drive… and even arrogance… that were necessary to form and help sustain churches… My Body on earth.

Some of My disciples were quite humble… and no one knows much about them. Peter, James, and John had better balances and were able to carry on after My death. There must be leaders, in every age, culture, and in most circumstances. In these there must be some humbleness, but also a certain amount of confidence and, even, arrogance.

Luke was also a bit excessive with the story and moral that you can’t serve two masters… God and money. Again, balance is more appropriate. In this culture money can’t be completely ignored, unless one has quite a lot of it. Oh, it is quite possible to be totally committed to Me and live in relative or real poverty. It has “been done” in every age and culture. But always remember: I love diversity, and I continue to create and sustain it, in myriad forms. I also see some spiritually advanced millionaires, as well as spiritual poor paupers.

Sometimes, in your life, you have been troubled by the balance that was yours to experience. Now you are probably more comfortable than in earlier years and pleased to be able to give money to your sons, to your church, and to “good causes”. Without some concern for money your life probably wouldn’t have been as pleasant, but I told you early that, for you, I was responsible for what you had… and didn’t have. You have accepted that more thoroughly now, even as it is no longer necessary for you to work for what you receive.