Boldly Humble or Humbly Bold? The Christian’s Identity Crisis.

I recently heard some teaching from Liverpudlian Evangelist Graham Jones that began to change my perception of myself, God and my identity.  The main concept of the teaching was that the Christian quite often has to hold two opposing ideas in tandem.  Take for example, humility and boldness. Both central concepts of Christianity and we are called to walk in both. Keeping both ideas in balance can cause confusion for many.  Boldness has all the power and an incorrect view of humility can stifle that power.

Christians are taught to be humble – as Jesus was humble.  For a start he was born in a stable and in first century Judea you probably couldn’t get much lower than that.  Unlike the romanticised nativity scene on today’s Christmas cards, it probably wasn’t clean, well-lit and full of well-behaved animals all gazing peacefully down on the scene.  It was probably dirty, noisy and slightly damp.

Jesus’ life oozes humility.  As an itinerant preacher He was on the move and He reminds us in Matthew 8v20: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Jesus is the ‘Suffering Servant’, the ‘Humble King’.  He enters Jerusalem towards the end of His life on earth not on an experienced and magnificent stallion, but on a donkey – a young colt that had never been ridden before, the lowest of the low. And so is borne in many Christians’ minds the concept that to be like Jesus you have to be a bit timid, a bit meek and mild, almost a bit like Uriah Heep, the ever-so-humble character of Charles Dickens’ novel, David Copperfield, whose central characteristic is his overwhelming humility and his catchphrase “’umble I am, ‘ umble I shall always be” rings in our ears.

So what happens when the ‘Uriah Heep ‘believer when he or she comes across a verse such as Hebrews 4 v 16:  “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (New Living Translation). Who?  Me?  Bold?  Boldly approach the throne of God?  I don’t think so.  I’ll just stay over here in the corner where no one can see me, in case anyone notices me and throws me out.  After all, I’m just a humble servant of the King of Humility.

The ‘Uriah Heep’ Christian is completely bound up in the incorrect concept of humility.  Jesus was humble – he humbled himself.  He left the glories of heaven and came to earth to be like us.  He came to earth at a time before technology and transport, so he didn’t have a flash car and an iPhone.  He was born in a dirty animal shelter in the middle of nowhere, was placed in the care of young couple who may not have been much more than inexperienced teenagers and for almost thirty years lived a quiet life as a tradesman.  It is amazing really.  As Philippians tells us in Chapter 2 verse 7 “he made himself nothing”.  He made himself humble, so he could understand the human condition in all its ups and downs.  An earthly King doesn’t necessarily understand what it’s like to live in a terraced house in Salford.  The Heavenly King does.

It is true that we should be humble, it is a characteristic which reflects Jesus and we should reject pride.  We shouldn’t boast and look to ourselves and our own achievements, but the humility aspect of our walk with God should be more about awe and respect for Him, not wimpish fear and self-condemnation.

It seems that this wrong thinking and incorrect humility has been a perennial problem, for we read in Paul’s second letter to Timothy chapter 1 verse 7: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power….” (NIV)  So God didn’t give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but we all act like He did!  God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, so where does it come from then? The church today – as then – struggles to understand its identity. Christians tend to put themselves down.  We tend to think of ourselves still as sinners not saints, and therefore not worthy of the position in which God Himself has put us through Jesus’ death on the cross.  We, as the church of the risen Christ, have the authority on this earth, but we act like we still need permission to breathe. Because, returning to the passage in Philippians we see what happens to Jesus after his death and resurrection:  Verse 9 “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place…” And whether we know it or not or whether we believe it or not, we Christians are there too. Ephesians 2 v 6: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (NIV).

We need to correct the balance between humility and boldness.  Some of us are so concerned about appearing to be proud we hide our lights under a bushel.  Some of us hold onto a spirit of timidity as if it were a gift from God!  Both attitudes stifle growth, joy and block what God wants to do in our lives.

Graham Jones has a Facebook page called Acts1v8 Ministries and a posting by Jeffrey Stewart succinctly explains the Christian’s position in Christ.

“You are seated with Me. So I want you to begin thinking like you are seated with Me. To begin praying like you are seated with Me. To begin speaking like you are seated with Me. In the Old Testament, My People were servants who were citizens of earth. In the New Testament, My People are My children who are citizens of heaven. Because you are used to thinking of yourselves as earthly citizens, you introduce into your prayers a sense of distance every time you pray. There is NO distance between us. I want you to meditate on the truth that you are seated with Me. That you are seated IN HEAVEN with Me, because you are ONE SPIRIT with Me. When you renew your mind to this truth, it will cause your prayer life and fellowship with Me to go to dimensions you never thought possible. When you change how you view where you are seated, you will find it very easy to believe for mighty miracles. You will find it very easy to be in constant communion with Me all day long. You will walk with My Father exactly as I walked with My Father and minister exactly as I ministered. For on the cross, I took upon Myself EVERYTHING you were, everything that you had, so that you could have EVERYTHING that I have.”

Once we start believing those truths there will be no room for incorrect humility.  We will be full of the boldness that comes from knowing that if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?!