Sermon Exodus 17:1-7, Philippians 2:1-13 Humility

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
Sermon Exodus 17:1-7, Philippians 2:1-13 Humility
September 28, 2008

Before coming to California to earn my Master of Divinity degree and become a pastor I was a businessman in Washington DC with a Master of Business Administration. I considered myself an expert. I started several businesses confident that I knew exactly what had to be done to make them successful. I thought that I had all the analytical skills need to project sales and cash flow and create budgets to ensure that through proper planning and management my businesses would have a good chance to succeed. I found out, that even though I had the education and skills I needed, I could not always predict the future for these businesses. Something surprising would always come along to derail my plans and force me to rethink and adjust. That’s the way the world is. No matter how smart we think we are the world is more complex than we can deal with and will often surprise us when we least expect it.

This week America has experienced anxiety about the economy. The President came on television to tell us that the economic forecasts of the counties best MBAs have been faulty and the financial services sector of our economy is in danger of failing. It seems that our experts, the ones who ran the largest financial services companies in America, mistakenly believed that housing prices would continually rise lifting everyone who invested in real estate to new levels of prosperity. But as prices for houses have fallen, many people are now “under water” owing more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. Many of these cannot sell or refinance their homes. Some cannot afford their current mortgages. And some have defaulted on their mortgages leaving financial companies which bought these home mortgages with nearly worthless investments. Clearly our experts have failed us.

This weekend the President along with the candidates vying for his office, the leaders of Congress, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Security and Exchange Commission have been meeting to workout a plan to rescue the financial services industry and the American economy from the brink of collapse. This is needed, they say, to allow businesses and individuals to continue to borrow money. The question we have to ask is: Will these experts be any better that the ones who led us into the economic mess we are in?

At a time like this we have to pray. Will you pray with me? Lord Jesus Christ, teach us humility when we begin to think that we are experts and know it all. Remind us that we are finite mortals and cannot possibly know all the ramifications of what we do. So we pray that you will fill our so called experts with the wisdom that can only come from you. And we pray this in your compassionate name. Amen.

NRS Philippians 2:1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We tend rely on experts. Expert economists will get us out of the mess we are in. Expert doctors will cure our diseases. Expert school administrators and teachers will nurture our children. Expert politicians will lead our country. Expert pastors will know how to make the church grow. Our entire educational system is designed to turn students into experts. And we trust experts to always know what to do.

But the Bible gives us a different world view. Rather than trusting in experts the Bible teaches us to put our trust in God. This is the meaning of humility. We are creatures humbly dependant on God the creator. Human pride, that causes us to exalt ourselves over God, is considered a sin. National arrogance, that puts the nation over God, will not escape God judgment. Our arrogant, self-confident attitude prevents us from submitting to God’s will or recognizing our dependence on God. This self-pride is often the result of the delusion that knowledge or skill or expertise will somehow save us. Scripture assures us that those who pridefully exalt themselves will one day be brought low, and the humble will be exalted. Both Peter and James quote an old saying “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”(1Peter 5:5, James 4:6).

The Old Testament tells us that Moses is our example for leading a humble life. The Hebrews were following Moses through the wilderness because he was the expert. For forty years Moses has tended his father-in-law’s sheep in this desert and therefore knew where all the watering holes were. But when Moses’ superior knowledge and experience failed, the people had no water to drink and their very survival looked bleak. They lost confidence in Moses as an expert. But they learned a very important lesson. We are saved not by our own expertise, but by the grace of almighty God. Moses reminded his people of the miracles of God in the exodus by raising the very staff that had parted the waters and he struck a rock that provided water for them to drink. It was God, not the expert Moses, who saved his people.

The New Testament teaches us that humility is an ethical virtue. It compares humility with gentleness, compassion, kindness, meekness and patience. Our primary example of a humble life is the life of Jesus Christ. And Paul teaches us that unity in the church can only be achieved by imitating a humble Christ.

In these uncertain economic times we will be tempted to rely on experts to get us out of the mortgage mess. But scripture is clear that God will oppose the proud. Rather we need to humbly approach God in prayer, casting all of our anxiety on God. If we try to be strong we prevent God from lifting us up. But if we first take a step down then God can lift us back up.

Jesus once told a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee was an expert on the law and relied on his own expertise. But the tax collector, understanding his own sinful nature, prayed for mercy. God welcomed the prayer of that tax collector and Jesus concluded the story by saying “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Many people confuse humility with a poor self image. Some Christians respond to complements with an “it’s not me - it’s the Lord” attitude. But true humility starts with a positive self image, an awareness of giftedness, a willingness to credit God for gifts and abilities, and a desire to use one’s gifts in God’s service. Here are a couple of examples: Dr. Paul Brand was a gifted young physician with promising career ahead of him, but he chose to take his gifts to India to work as an orthopedic surgeon with the leprosy patients. Dr. Henri Nouwen left a career as a professor at Yale and Harvard to teach at homes for the mentally handicapped in France and Canada. Both of these men realized that their expertise though great was nothing when compared to God’s grace.

Today we live in a society that worships experts as gods. Even though our experts fail us time and time again we still worship at the altar of accomplishment and self-reliance. We delight in watching a billionaire fire people on TV for lack of performance. We follow the lives of supermodels, celebrities, musicians and athletes. We believe that there is a God and we are it. With pride swollen heads how can ever approach our creator God? We desperately need a corrective; we need to humbly approach God in worship.

Humility before God reflects our reality. Who among us controls our nationality, mother tongue, race, looks, body shape, intelligence, the century of our birth, or our state of health? Which expert set the rotation of the Earth, the distance to the sun, and physical laws which keep us from freezing or roasting? There must be a God and we are certainly not it. When we humbly approach God in worship we realize the smallness of our own existence and the greatness of God.

So given that humility is the virtue that God desires what should we do with the economic mess we find ourselves in? Worshiping at the altar of knowledge and expertise won’t work. Rather we have to humbly worship at the altar of God.

I usually do not discuss politics from the pulpit. I believe that the candidates for President and Vice President are good Christians who worship God. But one of the vice presidential candidates said something last June that may help us to understand what God is calling us to do in these trying circumstances. Here is what Gov. Palin said about the war in Iraq to her church:

“Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [American soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that is God’s plan.

The Governor was not saying that whatever government experts come up must be God’s plan as some have argued. Rather she was saying that our nation should pray that whatever the experts come up with is consistent with God’s overall plan for the world. And this is what we must do now, pray to God that the leaders of our country will bow their heads in worship this Sunday and pray to God for wisdom and discernment. By doing this they will acknowledge that the only expert we really have is God.

Father in heaven, we approach your throne of grace and humbly beg forgiveness. We ask that you lead this nation through the economic perils ahead. Help our leaders to discern your will for us as they plan a national response to the problems we face. We pray this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.