First-century Rome championed an honor-shame society. What this means is that above happiness, pleasure, or prosperity, honor and reputation ruled men’s highest goals. Aristotle, from the 4th century B.C., wrote that “Honour and reputation are among the pleasantest things, through each person’s imagining that he has the qualities of an important person; and all the more so when others say so.” (John Dickson, Humilitas. 87). Humility did not factor as an attribute anywhere in Roman society, unless it was feigned before the gods and the emperors to protect one’s life.
Humility springs from the Latin word humilitas. Incidentally, humiliation also springs from the same Latin word, and humility was considered with a similar repugnancy before the calendar turned from B.C. to A.D. Humility was viewed as “an undignified inability or refusal to establish your merit.” (Dickson, 89.) Bragging about a person’s accomplishments, prosperity, and family pedigree was not only acceptable but also necessary to maintain a high position in society.
Into this honor-shame system entered Jesus, who spelled out the laudable traits of His Kingdom in His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5, those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who long for righteousness above all else, who show mercy, who are pure in heart, who strive for peace, and who are reviled and persecuted gain heaven’s notice and praise.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones described the Beatitudes as the “essential differences between a Christian and a non-Christian.” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 45). Lloyd-Jones further elaborated that the Beatitudes began and ended with the kingdom of heaven. This distinction sets the Christ follower apart from the world’s citizens. “You are not only different in essence; you are living in two absolutely different worlds…a citizen of another kingdom.” (Lloyd-Jones, 48).
In modern times, nothing usually sours people’s impressions of others more than arrogance and pride. A certain sitting President has many accomplishments, and yet his tendency to boast about his own accolades garners him more enemies than would otherwise be warranted. It is no longer acceptable to publish one’s own praise as it was in the world before Jesus came. Not only did Jesus change how the world marks history, but He also made humility the praiseworthy standard.
Consider how Jesus made a sign of shame, the cross of crucifixion, a standard to bow before in humble attrition. Though He created the Universe, He willingly allowed His creation to slap Him, mock Him, and finally nail Him to a wooden stake in the ground. His resurrection then proved His point. God exalts those who humble themselves.
Everything Jesus defined as good in Matthew 5-7, He exemplified even under duress. What Jesus asked of His followers is not humanly possible, nor will it ever fall under a person’s natural tendencies. Only His resurrection power, living inside those who have placed their faith in Him, can set His followers apart from the world’s gains and games. Humility is the standard of Heaven.
Why is it then, today, that believers feel they must earn God’s notice with their discipline, strong work ethic, and their strivings for His Kingdom? Climbing the church social ladder can be just as tempting as the world’s rat race. “Hustling” replaces humble ministry. None of this is what Jesus called His people to become. Just like in first-century Jerusalem, humility will not reshape the political realm. It will not create a spectacular display of awe seen by millions. What it will do is shock the person who receives mercy when they expect reproof. It will soften a hard heart accustomed to rejection. It calls the weary, tired of pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps, to rest in the work done by the only One who could finish it. It calls for love in the face of hatred. It calls for sacrifice amid persecution. It is an otherworldly approach because it is the language of Heaven. It is time for Christians to make humility their standard again.
His Song in the Night 