A pathway to humility
Humility is one of the key characteristics of a healthy church. A disciple of Christ that nurtures a humble spirit is not hindered in their worship, they are able to discern without self-interest, and take both criticism and encouragement with gratefulness. In Proverbs 11:2 it is written, ‘when pride comes, then comes disgrace. But with humility comes wisdom.’. It is vital that we cultivate humility in our hearts.
How does one cultivate humility? Is it simply to repress our achievements and gifts? Or force people to earn every part of their influence? Humility via a practice of humiliation may sound straightforward, but perhaps there are better ways, even in scripture.
We see in scripture that one of the ways is to have a discipline of celebrating the things of God. In scripture, one of the key teachers of humility within Israel wasn’t necessarily just the conflict and persecution they endured, but the feasts of celebration they held to faithfully. Because while persecution and hardship may bring humiliation, it was the celebration that constantly reminded them of God’s faithfulness and wonder. It caused them to turn towards His strength and not their own, even during the many years of exile. Celebration brought worship and humility deep into the culture of Israel.
God has given us many things to celebrate, let’s take a moment to thank him for it. The families within CPC, the new children born to our community, the faithfulness of our leaders, the grace God has given us through many trials and seasons. All of those things are worthy of being glad for.
So what can you celebrate today? To be grateful in our heart, but also to be glad in our conversation about? Why don’t you share that with someone?
Humility doesn’t come through simple humiliation, it comes when we recognise the power and sovereignty of God, His faithfulness to us despite our great short comings.
Let’s learn to celebrate and let the joy of God humble us with His grandeur.
通往謙卑之路
謙卑是健康教會的一個主要特徵。一個培養出謙卑態度的基督門徒，不會在其敬拜生活中面對障礙，反而能放下自身利益去分辨，並欣然地接受批評和鼓勵。箴言11:2這樣說：「驕傲來，羞恥也來，謙遜人卻有智慧」。因此，在我們心中培養出謙卑是至關重要的。
一個人是如何培養出謙卑來？是否單純地壓抑我們的成就和天賦？或是迫使別人去贏取其影響力？通過羞辱人的做法來使人感到自卑，聽起來直截了當，但也許在聖經中有更好的方法。
我們在聖經中看到，其中一種操練的方法是慶祝上帝的事情。在聖經中，使以色列謙卑下來的關鍵教導，並不單單是他們所忍受的衝突和逼迫，而是他們忠心地舉行的慶典。縱使逼迫和困難可能帶來羞辱，但正是慶祝本身不斷地提醒他們，上帝的信實和祂所行的奇事。即使在多年的被擄中，這使他們依靠的不是自己，而是神的能力。慶祝的操練讓敬拜和謙卑深深的植入以色列的文化裡。
上帝給了我們很多值得慶祝的事情，讓我們花點時間感謝祂。在雪梨華人長老會的家庭中，我們有剛出生的孩子，我們領袖的忠心，在許多試煉和人生季節中上帝給我們的恩典，這些所有都值得我們歡喜快樂。
今天你有什麼可以慶祝嗎？有哪些除了使我們滿心感恩，更值得我們在交談時分享的喜悅呢？你何不與別人分享？
謙卑不是透過羞辱來獲得的，它來自於，儘管我們有很多的軟弱，我們仍確知上帝的能力和主權，並祂對我們的信實。
讓我們學習慶祝，亦讓上帝的喜樂，藉著祂的榮美來使我們謙卑下來。
