KykNET Lent Guide 2023Sample

Week 1: Humility

Day 3: A Road that Looks Right

God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. Matthew 5:5 (NLT)

At first glance, the Pharisee looks like a good and humble person, doing the right thing (Luke 18). He prays, kneels before God, and is grateful. Is it really wrong to be grateful because I do not steal? That I do no harm to others? That I do not use violence to get my way? Is it not better? He attributes all these things to God.

This brings us to a very subtle and complex aspect of humility, one we also find in Jesus’ teaching. As an example, He says that we are not to take up the front seats as we will be moved to the back. We will be humiliated if more important people are to attend the gathering. Instead, take the back seat so that you may be called to the front – in this way you will become more.

But this is not what happens to this man. His prayer is still only centered on himself. We can show remorse, but the remorse is really only a form of self-pity, for it is only centered on ourselves. “Poor me, look at what’s happening to me.”

Deep remorse is concerned with our actions and the state of our hearts: defective and dependent. We are invited to go to a place where we cannot deny reality. Jesus says that He Himself is meek and humble (Matt 11:28). It does not make Him prideful. It is not a denial of reality or goodness, but a recognition of dependence.

It is said that Golda Meir, a previous Premier of Israel, walked around with two cards in her pocket. One said: you are dust, you are of the earth, you are actually nothing. The other card said: to you belongs the earth and the world. We often need to go to one of these polar opposites: A recognition of the truth, but also a total dependence on God.

Exercise:

Think about the polar opposites of humility and pride in your life. From what place are you currently functioning? Speak to God about it.

Repetition Prayer:

Oh God, have mercy on me, a sinner!