Philippians 2:1-11; Ezekiel 20; Isaiah 49

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7 NKJV) 

What is Christmas? It’s the story of Christ Jesus who humbled Himself, left heaven, and came to earth as a man. Paul used that message to remind us, as God’s children, to be humble and to serve others like He did. We see the end result of Christ’s humility a few verses later as Paul noted that Jesus had a name above every name and that at His name, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Humility is an unspoken virtue. If someone is showing true humility, you don’t want to tell them, of course, because they’d be proud of their humility. We can aspire to humility by doing two things: seeing ourselves as God sees us and serving others without trying to take credit for everything. A friend of mine made a very valid comment about Christians who toot their own horns: “If you or one of your posse have to tell everyone about your good deeds or your good works, in my experience, you are probably doing them for the wrong reasons.” Or, as Jesus put it, if you’re doing your good deeds to be seen by men, you get your reward from men. If you’re doing them (unseen and humbly) for God, you’ll get your reward in heaven. Today, seek to live humbly. But if you think you achieve true humility, don’t even tell yourself about it or you’ll ruin everything.

Lord, may I exemplify humility as I follow You and serve others. Help me to forget about myself and my own ego and point others to You. May my words and deeds reveal a small part of Your greatness.