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00:01 James 4:6: 00:03 “God opposes the haughty ones, 00:06 “but he gives undeserved kindness 00:08 to the humble ones.” 00:11 Well, haughtiness is really disdainful pride, 00:15 superciliousness, arrogance. 00:17 One who is haughty is in his own estimation 00:21 superior to his fellow man. 00:23 On the other hand, 00:25 humility is freedom from pride or arrogance. 00:29 It’s the state of lowliness of mind. 00:33 Humility and haughtiness are the exact opposites of each other. 00:38 Humility is here; 00:41 haughtiness is at the other end of the spectrum. 00:45 Which one are you? 00:48 Likely neither, but somewhere in between. 00:52 Now, if Jehovah had a “humble/haughty meter,” 00:55 where would the needle be if he was monitoring you? 00:59 Would it be in the middle? 01:01 Well, hopefully not. 01:03 Hopefully it would be closer to humility. 01:05 We’re imperfect, but we want to be 01:07 as far away from haughtiness as possible. 01:11 The verse said: 01:13 “[Jehovah] opposes the haughty,” 01:15 but he favors those who are humble. 01:18 Haughtiness is not totally a mental condition per se. 01:22 Please find Mark chapter 7 with me, 01:26 Mark 7:21, 22. 01:28 Jesus put haughtiness in a lineup 01:32 with many unsavory qualities and actions. 01:36 Well, if it’s not totally a mental condition, what is haughtiness? 01:40 Notice how Jesus describes where it comes from 01:45 at Mark 7:21, 22. 01:53 It says: 01:54 “For from inside, out of the heart of men, 01:57 [so it’s a heart condition] 01:59 “come injurious reasonings, sexual immorality, thefts, 02:02 “murders, acts of adultery, greed, acts of wickedness, deceit, 02:05 “brazen conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy, 02:09 “haughtiness, and unreasonableness. 02:12 All these . . . things come from within and defile a man.” 02:16 So haughtiness is really a condition of the heart, 02:19 the inner person. 02:21 And it says it’s a ‘wicked thing.’ 02:24 Well, what about humility? 02:27 In some ancient cultures, 02:29 a humble person was always thought to be a slave, 02:32 miserable, a pitiful person. 02:36 But humility is not the same as humiliation. 02:40 Instead, in the Bible it stresses that humility 02:45 —this lowliness of mind— 02:46 can actually lead to honor, to status with God. 02:49 And so Proverbs 22:4 says: 02:52 “The result of humility . . . is riches and glory and life” 02:59 —not miserable, not pitiful by any means. 03:04 Well, we said earlier that if Jehovah had a “humble/haughty meter,” 03:08 the needle likely would not be pegged on humility in our case 03:13 nor on haughtiness. 03:15 Well, why is that? 03:17 Well, because as dedicated Christians, 03:20 none of us are absolutely haughty at heart. 03:25 But as imperfect dedicated Christians, 03:28 none of us have the market on true humility. 03:32 Only Jehovah and Jesus are absolutely humble. 03:37 Well, can we be basically a humble person 03:40 and yet act haughtily, or arrogantly, at times? 03:44 Well, let’s consider Moses. 03:46 Jehovah gave him tremendous authority. 03:49 And it’s known that power, authority, a responsible position 03:53 can erode humility. 03:57 But Moses proved his humility time after time. 04:00 For example, in Numbers chapter 11 04:02 he gathered together 70 elders, 04:05 and verse 25 says that Jehovah took some of the spirit of Moses away 04:09 and put it on the 70 elders, 04:11 and they began to behave as prophets. 04:14 Well, there’s nothing that indicates Moses 04:16 jealously tried to guard his authority and privileges. 04:20 He was humble. 04:22 And we all remember the account where Moses’ father-in-law 04:26 suggested that he delegate some of his workload to others. 04:31 Moses did not arrogantly resist that. 04:35 He humbly accepted the suggestion. 04:38 And then later, at the end of his life 04:40 when Jehovah chose his replacement —Joshua— 04:43 Moses humbly accepted that decision. 04:45 He urged the people to follow Joshua’s lead. 04:50 Well, we could say nothing else 04:52 than Moses was an excellent example of humility, 04:57 but he was not perfect. 04:59 Please find with me Numbers chapter 20, 05:03 Numbers 20. 05:05 Humble Moses allowed himself to be provoked 05:08 and perform an act of haughtiness, or arrogance. 05:12 The situation was that there was no water for the assembly of Israel, 05:15 and the people began to show an arrogant, rebellious spirit. 05:21 Please pick up the dialogue with me 05:23 in verse 4 of Numbers chapter 20. 05:28 They said: 05:29 “Why have you brought Jehovah’s congregation 05:31 “into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 05:34 “And why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place? 05:37 “It is no place for seed and figs and vines and pomegranates, 05:40 and there is no water to drink.” 05:42 Well, they got under Moses’ skin. 05:46 They caused him to lose his humility momentarily. 05:50 Look at verse 9: 05:53 “So Moses took the rod from before Jehovah, 05:56 “just as He had commanded him. 05:58 “Then Moses and Aaron called the congregation together 06:00 “before the crag, and he said to them: 06:02 “‘Hear, now, you rebels! 06:04 “‘Must we [meaning Aaron and I] 06:07 bring out water for you from this crag?’” 06:10 Well, that was a haughty, arrogant act. 06:14 Admittedly, the people were out of line 06:16 with their speech and attitude. 06:18 But Jehovah took note 06:21 of “the spike in the needle” of the “haughty meter.” 06:25 Look at verse 12: 06:28 “Jehovah later said to Moses and Aaron: 06:30 “‘Because you did not show faith in me 06:32 “‘and sanctify me before the eyes of the people of Israel, 06:35 “‘you will not bring this congregation 06:38 into the land that I will give them.’” 06:41 So although generally Moses’ “needle” 06:43 was always very close to humility, 06:46 Jehovah was displeased 06:49 with this “spike on the needle” toward haughtiness, 06:52 even though momentary. 06:54 Well, it’s good for us to consider this 06:56 because it’s easy for us to lose our humility, 07:00 particularly if we are invested with some authority. 07:03 Maybe we have a new responsibility 07:05 in the congregation, in the circuit, at the branch. 07:09 Or maybe we have a skill and talent that we excel in, 07:11 and we get compliments galore. 07:13 Or we’re at odds with a fellow believer. 07:16 Will we maintain our humility? 07:19 There was a great line in the February 2013 Watchtower. 07:23 It said: “Remember: In order to be useful to Jehovah, 07:27 our humility should always exceed our ability.” 07:32 Well, King Saul allowed his ability 07:35 to exceed his humility. 07:37 And at 1 Samuel 15:17 07:40 —he was not to take any spoils from the land, 07:42 but he allowed that to happen— 07:45 in verse 17, Samuel confronted him, and he said: 07:48 “Were you not insignificant [or humble] in your own eyes?” 07:52 And then he said: ‘Why did you disobey Jehovah?’ 07:55 Well, Saul stammered and stuttered. 07:57 But bottom line, Jehovah was not pleased 07:59 because in verse 23, Jehovah said through Samuel: 08:02 ‘Rebelliousness is the same as the sin of divination, 08:05 ‘and pushing ahead presumptuously the same as magical power and idolatry. 08:09 You rejected the word of God, I reject you as king.’ 08:15 Well, it’s just as our text said: 08:17 “[Jehovah] opposes the haughty ones.” 08:20 May we all strive to keep our “needle” close to humility.
00:01 James 4:6: 00:03 “God opposes the haughty ones, 00:06 “but he gives undeserved kindness 00:08 to the humble ones.” 00:11 Well, haughtiness is really disdainful pride, 00:15 superciliousness, arrogance. 00:17 One who is haughty is in his own estimation 00:21 superior to his fellow man. 00:23 On the other hand, 00:25 humility is freedom from pride or arrogance. 00:29 It’s the state of lowliness of mind. 00:33 Humility and haughtiness are the exact opposites of each other. 00:38 Humility is here; 00:41 haughtiness is at the other end of the spectrum. 00:45 Which one are you? 00:48 Likely neither, but somewhere in between. 00:52 Now, if Jehovah had a “humble/haughty meter,” 00:55 where would the needle be if he was monitoring you? 00:59 Would it be in the middle? 01:01 Well, hopefully not. 01:03 Hopefully it would be closer to humility. 01:05 We’re imperfect, but we want to be 01:07 as far away from haughtiness as possible. 01:11 The verse said: 01:13 “[Jehovah] opposes the haughty,” 01:15 but he favors those who are humble. 01:18 Haughtiness is not totally a mental condition per se. 01:22 Please find Mark chapter 7 with me, 01:26 Mark 7:21, 22. 01:28 Jesus put haughtiness in a lineup 01:32 with many unsavory qualities and actions. 01:36 Well, if it’s not totally a mental condition, what is haughtiness? 01:40 Notice how Jesus describes where it comes from 01:45 at Mark 7:21, 22. 01:53 It says: 01:54 “For from inside, out of the heart of men, 01:57 [so it’s a heart condition] 01:59 “come injurious reasonings, sexual immorality, thefts, 02:02 “murders, acts of adultery, greed, acts of wickedness, deceit, 02:05 “brazen conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy, 02:09 “haughtiness, and unreasonableness. 02:12 All these . . . things come from within and defile a man.” 02:16 So haughtiness is really a condition of the heart, 02:19 the inner person. 02:21 And it says it’s a ‘wicked thing.’ 02:24 Well, what about humility? 02:27 In some ancient cultures, 02:29 a humble person was always thought to be a slave, 02:32 miserable, a pitiful person. 02:36 But humility is not the same as humiliation. 02:40 Instead, in the Bible it stresses that humility 02:45 —this lowliness of mind— 02:46 can actually lead to honor, to status with God. 02:49 And so Proverbs 22:4 says: 02:52 “The result of humility . . . is riches and glory and life” 02:59 —not miserable, not pitiful by any means. 03:04 Well, we said earlier that if Jehovah had a “humble/haughty meter,” 03:08 the needle likely would not be pegged on humility in our case 03:13 nor on haughtiness. 03:15 Well, why is that? 03:17 Well, because as dedicated Christians, 03:20 none of us are absolutely haughty at heart. 03:25 But as imperfect dedicated Christians, 03:28 none of us have the market on true humility. 03:32 Only Jehovah and Jesus are absolutely humble. 03:37 Well, can we be basically a humble person 03:40 and yet act haughtily, or arrogantly, at times? 03:44 Well, let’s consider Moses. 03:46 Jehovah gave him tremendous authority. 03:49 And it’s known that power, authority, a responsible position 03:53 can erode humility. 03:57 But Moses proved his humility time after time. 04:00 For example, in Numbers chapter 11 04:02 he gathered together 70 elders, 04:05 and verse 25 says that Jehovah took some of the spirit of Moses away 04:09 and put it on the 70 elders, 04:11 and they began to behave as prophets. 04:14 Well, there’s nothing that indicates Moses 04:16 jealously tried to guard his authority and privileges. 04:20 He was humble. 04:22 And we all remember the account where Moses’ father-in-law 04:26 suggested that he delegate some of his workload to others. 04:31 Moses did not arrogantly resist that. 04:35 He humbly accepted the suggestion. 04:38 And then later, at the end of his life 04:40 when Jehovah chose his replacement —Joshua— 04:43 Moses humbly accepted that decision. 04:45 He urged the people to follow Joshua’s lead. 04:50 Well, we could say nothing else 04:52 than Moses was an excellent example of humility, 04:57 but he was not perfect. 04:59 Please find with me Numbers chapter 20, 05:03 Numbers 20. 05:05 Humble Moses allowed himself to be provoked 05:08 and perform an act of haughtiness, or arrogance. 05:12 The situation was that there was no water for the assembly of Israel, 05:15 and the people began to show an arrogant, rebellious spirit. 05:21 Please pick up the dialogue with me 05:23 in verse 4 of Numbers chapter 20. 05:28 They said: 05:29 “Why have you brought Jehovah’s congregation 05:31 “into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 05:34 “And why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place? 05:37 “It is no place for seed and figs and vines and pomegranates, 05:40 and there is no water to drink.” 05:42 Well, they got under Moses’ skin. 05:46 They caused him to lose his humility momentarily. 05:50 Look at verse 9: 05:53 “So Moses took the rod from before Jehovah, 05:56 “just as He had commanded him. 05:58 “Then Moses and Aaron called the congregation together 06:00 “before the crag, and he said to them: 06:02 “‘Hear, now, you rebels! 06:04 “‘Must we [meaning Aaron and I] 06:07 bring out water for you from this crag?’” 06:10 Well, that was a haughty, arrogant act. 06:14 Admittedly, the people were out of line 06:16 with their speech and attitude. 06:18 But Jehovah took note 06:21 of “the spike in the needle” of the “haughty meter.” 06:25 Look at verse 12: 06:28 “Jehovah later said to Moses and Aaron: 06:30 “‘Because you did not show faith in me 06:32 “‘and sanctify me before the eyes of the people of Israel, 06:35 “‘you will not bring this congregation 06:38 into the land that I will give them.’” 06:41 So although generally Moses’ “needle” 06:43 was always very close to humility, 06:46 Jehovah was displeased 06:49 with this “spike on the needle” toward haughtiness, 06:52 even though momentary. 06:54 Well, it’s good for us to consider this 06:56 because it’s easy for us to lose our humility, 07:00 particularly if we are invested with some authority. 07:03 Maybe we have a new responsibility 07:05 in the congregation, in the circuit, at the branch. 07:09 Or maybe we have a skill and talent that we excel in, 07:11 and we get compliments galore. 07:13 Or we’re at odds with a fellow believer. 07:16 Will we maintain our humility? 07:19 There was a great line in the February 2013 Watchtower. 07:23 It said: “Remember: In order to be useful to Jehovah, 07:27 our humility should always exceed our ability.” 07:32 Well, King Saul allowed his ability 07:35 to exceed his humility. 07:37 And at 1 Samuel 15:17 07:40 —he was not to take any spoils from the land, 07:42 but he allowed that to happen— 07:45 in verse 17, Samuel confronted him, and he said: 07:48 “Were you not insignificant [or humble] in your own eyes?” 07:52 And then he said: ‘Why did you disobey Jehovah?’ 07:55 Well, Saul stammered and stuttered. 07:57 But bottom line, Jehovah was not pleased 07:59 because in verse 23, Jehovah said through Samuel: 08:02 ‘Rebelliousness is the same as the sin of divination, 08:05 ‘and pushing ahead presumptuously the same as magical power and idolatry. 08:09 You rejected the word of God, I reject you as king.’ 08:15 Well, it’s just as our text said: 08:17 “[Jehovah] opposes the haughty ones.” 08:20 May we all strive to keep our “needle” close to humility.
