In our second installment of Lessons in Discipleship, we're going to be looking at humility; a characteristic that implies not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Before we jump in, let's have ourselves a quick review from last week: compassion. 

Compassion, as we saw, means to suffer with someone or others during a time of need; more so, it's usually at the most inconvenient time though we saw how Jesus responded in Mark 6. 

I think many look at discipleship as a wonderful opportunity to teach others what it means to follow Jesus and while this line of thought is true, in my experience, we are quick to forget that discipleship also establishes reciprocity. In other words, if I am teaching someone what it means to follow Jesus in everyday life and because the same Holy Spirit dwells in me, I am and should be convicted of the same teaching points.

So, let's talk about it. 

HUMILITY: THINKING OF YOURSELF LESS

Paul writes and sets up the standard for humility in Philippians 2:3 writing, "do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves." 

When we consider others more important and not expect a "thank you" or some sort of praise, we follow in the example of Jesus. The leadership style of Jesus was that of placing yourself last and not because you're awesome, but because you "consider others as more important" than yourself. It means serving others and being a reflection of the person and work of Jesus not ourselves. 

The difficulty of humility in discipleship, in my experience, has been thinking I am pretty good at this Christian life when, in fact, I'm far from it.  When we teach others what it means to follow Jesus, this includes showing them our need for Jesus in the midst of our sin. Repentance is a great teacher because it's an opportunity to show our need for Jesus and an opportunity for growth and transformation.

If discipleship is merely coffee talk once a week, then we're missing our objective. If we are to teach everything we have observed (Matthew 28), then I'm practically sure that it infers the context of life: the place(s) where we know our sin will be exposed; a place where humility could best be observed, taught, and shown.

In humility, we make much of Christ, pointing others to Him. That's the whole point of discipleship, isn't it? It's in the context of life and meeting people where they're at and taking them to where Jesus wants them to be.

Questions for the week: 
• Where, in your life do you need to repent of pride?
• Have you demonstrated/modeled (not just talked/taught about) repentance to those you disciple?
• What does it mean to "consider others as more important than ourselves"? 
• How do Christ's actions demonstrate humility and a concern for others?