Everyone wants to be exalted. There are many cases where mutual hurt and disharmony arise from not being exalted.
God desires for us to be the light of the world and also receive much love from Him, so He teaches us humility. Since He is the King of heaven and the Most High God, there is nothing for Him to be humbled about. Yet, He chose to come to this earth in the form of a common man, setting an example of gentleness and humility. As He said, “Learn from me that I am gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:28–29), God instructs us to be humble during our time on earth, promising to exalt us in due time (1 Pe 5:6).
Do you think God tells us to be humble because He finds joy in His children humbling themselves? Humility is a process God guides us through in order to elevate us in heaven. When we are humble, we can receive honor and love. When we fear God with humility, we can receive glory, wealth, and life (Pr 15:33; 22:4).
All conflicts and wicked deeds arise due to lack of humility. Arrogant individuals refuse to listen to others, focusing solely on their own interests and considering themselves righteous. Without being born again, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
Thus, God Himself bestowed upon us His righteous flesh and blood to transform us into His beautiful nature (Jn 3:3). As one body with God, we ought to be like-minded and humbly value others above ourselves, looking not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Php 2:2–9).
God saves the humble and listens to the desires of the humble (Job 22:29; Ps 10:17). In order to bear the fruit of love, we must be humble. There can be no love without humility. All people are destined to die because of their sins, but God shed His blood as the Passover lamb for all their sins, so that they can have eternal life. Therefore, the greatest love is to encourage people to keep the Passover and receive eternal life. God told us to share this love. We can share this love when we are humble.
Apostle Paul was the most qualified man in many respects: his education, wealth, power, and honor as well as his citizenship in Rome, which was envied by people of his time. However, as he began to preach the gospel, being called by God, he forsook arrogance and preached with humility and tears (Ac 20:17–20). Although he was cold, naked, hungry, and beaten a lot, he knew the value of heaven, so he did not regard suffering as suffering but only cared about the church and the members.
Just as God was persecuted when He came to this earth to preach the gospel, we, God’s heirs, are to suffer hardships on this earth as the humble (Ro 8:16–18). Those who receive awards work harder than others. In the gospel, those who work hard like Paul will receive great rewards in heaven.
The people in the Bible achieved triumph through humility and suffered great loss due to arrogance. After Saul was called by God and became king of Israel, he forgot his humble heart and committed the sin of disobeying God’s word. God regretted having made him king and left him (1 Sa 15:10–19). As a result, an evil spirit came upon Saul, and the king’s throne was handed over to David who was humble.
The reason such cases are written in the Bible is to enlighten us to God’s promise: “Do not rule over the saints, but serve them in humility. If you serve them, you will be exalted in heaven.” When we go to heaven after being transformed into the glorious likeness of God, God will exalt us and make us a “royal priesthood” (Php 3:20–21; 1 Pe 2:9). Let us humbly serve many people and preach the word of love to the world where love has cooled down. By doing so, let us, children of Zion, be praised as the sons and daughters of God even by the people of the world, and glorify God Ahnsahnghong.
