Do not let anyone who delights in false humility …
Summary: Paul’s warning about people who “delight” in “false humility” sounds rather general but is actually quite specific.
It is nice of Paul to warn us against people who “delight” in “false humility,” but how do we know who that is? In short, who is Paul talking about?
In Paul’s day, the church was a new thing. People had the Old Testament writings for reference, but the New Testament was still being written. The Gospel message about believing in Jesus was spreading fast. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people who tried to add their own rules to the Gospel.
The problem facing the Colossians in Paul’s day still faces us today: How do we tell who is speaking the truth?
Paul’s first clue has to do with humility.
Most of us are adept at spotting people who are arrogant. Arrogant people are full of themselves. Their opinions matter — while the rest of us are (in their eyes) simply idiots. Anybody can be arrogant. You don’t have to be someone special or have a certain social status. In fact, it can be argued that all of us are a little bit arrogant if we don’t submit to God’s authority.
When we realize we need Jesus as Savior, the first thing that has to go is our arrogance. How does anyone stand before God and still think we are “important.” We are important to God because he loves us, but we are not important because of anything we have done that we can brag about.
True humility submits to God as the ultimate authority. False humility claims authority for ourselves under the guise of representing God.
Notice that the test is not whether a person believes they are speaking for God. If what they say does not align with the reality of God’s Word, it doesn’t matter if they believe it or not.
Since we all tend to be a little bit arrogant (Romans 3:23), Paul clarifies his point and warns against “anyone who delights in false humility.” A person who “delights” in appearing humble is actually arrogant about their humility. This added layer of arrogance is the key to Paul’s warning.
Jesus tells us a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector who illustrate this difference (Luke 18:11-14). In the story, the Pharisee stands before God and brags about how many good things he does while the tax collector bows his head in shame and confesses his sins. Jesus says:
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)
If we know what it means to be humble before God, false humility is easy to spot.
Application: When we take the plank out of our own eye (Matt 7: 3-7), it is easier to spot false humility in others.
Food for Thought: How do we check our own humility to see if it is true or false?
How do we check our own humility to see if it is true or false?
In Christ:
Our old self has been crucified, we have been born again, we are a new creation. Called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, to experience life in the kingdom of God, as we live by faith in the Son of God,
Romans 6:6, 1 Peter 1:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2, John 3:3, Galatians 2:20
We have become God’s temple, with God’s Spirit dwelling in us.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Believers have been chosen by God to be the “container of His Spirit” as He ministers to the world around each of us. Our job is to get out of the way as we fully receive this honor by allowing Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit to minister to those around us.
Are we becoming the servants we are called to be?
Great question, Ron!
(Hey! That’s MY job!! 🙂 )
Seriously, that is a very good test question.
There are only so many times we can ask God. What comes after our salvation? Why do I remain here?
Like a child, why, why, why????????
At some point we hear His answer. This is what He told me.
Thanks for the Great Question, Brother Jeffery!
🙂
Thank you for your great comments R2T2.
I think those comments fit well with the context of the passage. I know I am jumping ahead, but all of verse 18 – 19 says, “ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
In this we see the falsely humble worshipping something other than God, they go into great deal of discussion about their experiences with false worship trying to disqualify faith in the true God, they are guided by pride, and they have lost connection with God as a result.
If I am reading the context correctly, these people aren’t even sincere followers of Jesus. But to one of Jeff’s points, we all have arrogance and we need to keep eyes fixed on Jesus instead of ourselves. We should recognize the credit He deserves rather than seeing ourselves as having some intrinsic worthiness to receive glory.
Thank you, Rich.
If I understand you correctly, we can measure our own humility against the Lord Jesus in two ways. One is are we submitting to him, and the other is are we as humble as he is.
I think those are two excellent measurements brother.