On the Path of Humility for Success in the New Year

As we transitioned from the Christmas season to the beginning of a new year, I thought about two years after the first Christmas. That era marked one of the worst times in Jewish history. Herod the Great ruled the region known as Judea from his palace in Jerusalem. A mysterious caravan of sophisticated dignitaries appeared seeking the newborn king.

Herod was stunned at the description newborn king. His frenzied anxiety, birthed in insane jealousy and fear of being ousted, fueled an exhaustive search for this tiny one that he perceived as a threat to his power. Ultimately, the scroll of  Micah's prophesy, written about 800 years prior to the birth of Jesus, revealed the ruler would be born in Bethlehem, one of the small towns in Herod’s jurisdiction. He sent the wise men to locate the infant monarch with the instruction to report back to him so he could worship Him, too.

The wicked leader of the region exploded with anger when he recognized the magi and their entourage did not respond to his demands. Unknown to him, God warned them to return to the east by a different route. His rage escalated into a horrific edict ordering the annihilation of all male babies under the age of two years of age.

As a toddler, my maternal grandmother read a Bible story book to me. It had very few pictures. However, it had a line drawing of a soldier with a sword in one hand and a baby in the other. As a preschooler, I scratched the weapon into oblivion. Ironically, my mother taught respect and care of my books, but this one drawing was defaced by a little one who realized what an evil action King Herod had taken against precious baby boys.

Matthew recorded that an angel warned Joseph to quickly and stealthily convey Mary and God’s tiny Son to the safety of Egypt. Another illustration of this Biblical account entered my life when I was seven years of age. My maternal grandma, Gladys Rainey Smith, ordered a set of classical paintings illustrating Biblical stories. In the boxes, I discovered a record in Grandma’s handwriting that listed the pictures of the Bible stories that she read to me in 1963.

The Heading of Grandma's Record

  The New Testament set included a moving depiction by Luc Oliver Merson, the French artist born in 1846, entitled Rest on the Flight into Egypt. The weary travelers found the Sphinx as a point to stop while escaping the terror of Herod the Great.  Mary can be seen between the paws of the massive structure with the endangered Christ Child on her lap, with Joseph sleeping at the base of the Sphinx. Surrounded by the darkness of the night, in the vast desert, the eeriness of safety would seem to be the foremost concern. Yet the three rest peacefully in the security of the protection of the Baby’s Heavenly Father.

A copy of the painting panel from the set Grandma
shared with me in 1963. (Just a note -  the scripture
 does not record that the three rested at the Sphinx.)
The original painting is in the collections of the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. 
(An online search of Rest on the Flight into Egypt 
can yield the beautiful painting.)

              Even though house after house in the hillside country of Bethlehem was invaded ruthlessly and every boy infant found was destroyed viciously by the demon-inspired ruler of the area, the tiny Son of God’s mission was unthwarted. The prophesy in Micah (chapter 5, verse 2) accurately predicted the exact spot where the Savior would be born and its reading tipped Herod off to enact his dastardly infanticide. Yet as we launch into a new beginning, I reflected on another passage in Micah – one to be a beacon for 2017.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly

And to love mercy

And to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 -NIV

 John Tillotson, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the mid-1600s, commented that this verse identified the two important types of relationships in our existence – interacting with other humans and relating to God. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He delineated that first one must love the Lord with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength – that defined the relationship with God. He knew it set the stage for all the rest of life. Then Jesus said to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This command instructed how to relate to others - whether relatives, friends, neighbors, or coworkers.

Micah said to “act justly.” I remember telling my third graders, “Just do what is right.” How easily it is to do what  “feels right” instead of actually doing what we know deep within is the right action to take! Usually doing the right thing involves thinking of others rather than ourselves.

Secondly, Micah wrote “to love mercy.” Several translations said to “love kindness.” If mercy is shown, our relative or coworker will not receive what they deserve. We will choose to show kindness. Stephen Covey in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change said, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Parents must remember sometimes showing kindness will reveal itself as tough love. 

Finally, the Prophet Micah, in the 8^th century B.C., encouraged his hearers to walk humbly with your God. He didn’t say to soar, run, fly, or sail with the Lord. The idea of walking entailed a daily, step-by-step journey with our Creator who desired an ongoing relationship with those He made and sent His Son to redeem. In no way did the Lord intend for us to just call when we need Him in an emergency like an ungrateful, demanding child. Neither did He plan for us to live with the attitude – Thanks, but no thanks, God. I’ve got this one.

As we begin 2017, let’s not let a day pass without time in the word of God and genuine prayer. May we guard against our prayer merely being a list of wants. Every day may He hear us say, “I want to obey You and please You.” Let’s be sure to sprinkle our conversation with Him with specific thankfulness. 

It seems appropriate to close with a word of admonishment from personal experience. The vertical interactions with others - acting justly and loving mercy - can only proceed from walking humbly with your God. The adverb humbly denotes our inability to do this on our own. He is the one that enables us to successfully live with those around us. Only our relationship with Him can provide the necessary strength and motivation to do the right thing with the spirit of kindness toward those we daily encounter in 2017.