Walking humbly?

Several summers ago I found myself meditating on the simple verse Micah 6:8, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? KJV.“ As I sought to understand each admonition I settled on the word humbly, asking the Lord what does it look like to walk in a humble manner.

Several summers ago I found myself meditating on the simple verse Micah 6:8, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? KJV.“ As I sought to understand each admonition I settled on the word humbly, asking the Lord what does it look like to walk in a humble manner.

Most of us have a perception that humility lies somewhere between an “aw shucks” kind of hesitancy and a large measure of self-doubt. However, that definition doesn’t fit well when placed alongside justice and mercy.

As I mulled about the concept of humility and the high value God places on it, a thought occurred to me. Pride seems to be the opposite of humility. Pride captured Eve with the temptation that she could be “like God” and she stepped beyond the one limit placed on her by God. Pride led her to violate that one command in the Garden and pride continues to tempt us as well.

I began to correlate the relationship between pride and humility. If pride tempts me to step beyond the limits God has set, then perhaps humility is learning to live obediently within those limits. Not just behavioral limits, but embracing not resisting the limits of my humanity. The temptation to exceed those limits echoes the evil voice from the Garden saying, “You can be as God.” When I choose to live without an awareness of my humanity, which is limited, as opposed to God’s unlimited being, I am living arrogantly.

Today we pack our lives full 24/7. Our humanity was not designed that way. For instance, we operate outside our limits when we refuse to take at least one day in seven for rest and worship. This limit allows us to rest and be refreshed rather than harried and hurried. The Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. When I take on more than I can humanly do, I invite stress and illness. Even Jesus, in His humanity, took time away. He did not heal everyone, He lived in perfect step with the Father doing only those things He was called to do.

Somehow before that summer I had never considered that over commitment reflected arrogance rather than humility. That filling every moment to a breaking point succumbs to the temptation to be god with unlimited power and ability. Thus, on the flip side, humility recognizes and affirms my human limits and learns to live within them. When I’m speeding to make my next appointment with disregard for others on the road, am I not as arrogant as Eve who chose to step outside her limits?

It is not God who loads us till we bend or break, but rather my pride that refuses to live within the limits of my humanity. Learning to accept those limits presents me with a daily challenge. Walking humbly with God lights the way.