Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:15

To experience humility, spend time with a temperamental and overly tired toddler—in a public place. These tiny humans with emotions they can’t control have brought many a parent to their embarrassed knees. Hopefully this is in prayer, but often times it is in surrender to these little beings who are unshakeable in their belief that they are, in fact, the center of the universe. (or maybe that’s just want their Nana and Pops tell them)

            With proper and faithful parenting, they will grow out of it to become functioning members of society. Most of them anyway.

            We all know those people who haven’t moved on from the selfish thoughts and desires of toddlerhood. These are people who bring stress and anxiety into our lives. They are chaos creators and crazy makers. They see you and others around them as their personal assistant, constant cheerleader, punching bag, doormat—a person exists to serve them. In extreme cases of dysfunction, they see themselves as their own god.

            Ironically, as followers of Christ we do exist glorify God by serving others within appropriately healthy boundaries. I’m not here to endorsed selfish behavior or encourage us to be the enablers of such behavior.

HUMILITY

            It’s my humility that I’m thinking of today.

            Jesus washed the feet of Judas just as he washed the feet of Peter. He knew what Judas was about to do, yet he served him.

            What an act of humility. 

            Humility comes with its own set of enemies: pride, a spirit of offense, entitlement, fear, and even our freedoms. All these things must fall away before we can truly walk and serve in humility toward others.

            This doesn’t mean we are condoning of sin or tolerant of evil. But it means we see it in the proper light.

            The light of God’s truth and promises. The light of the cross and the unmerited gift of salvation it brings us.

            Perhaps all of this is on my mind more as we struggle with the steady stream of news bearing the stories of unfathomable brutality, hate, and evil over the past few days.

            And I ask myself, could I humble myself enough to wash the feet of my enemies?

            “Washing feet” isn’t the same as becoming a doormat for someone to wipe their feet on. It is an act of kindness whereby we act in the manner Jesus taught us, making us a witness to the light.

LIKE VS LOVE

            We don’t have to like someone to love them. We don’t have to agree with them to bless them.

            Humility is meekness. A gentleness of spirit. Not a passive submission to avoid conflict, but a confident knowing that God is in control, and we are not. Knowing that God works all things together for His purpose. Knowing that it is in His strength that we can accomplish hard things. 

We talk about how Jesus humbled Himself on the cross to die for our sins, but do we sometimes lose sight of the fact that Jesus knelt to wash the feet of Judas first?

God is always up to something far greater than we can imagine.

Step aside from the path of hate, pride, offense, entitlement, or fear,  and watch what God can do with a humble servant.