Friday, April 17, 2015

The Rewards of Humility Psalm 34:2-3:

Psalm 34:2-3: “My soul will make its boast in the Lord; the humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” So humility does have something to brag about, God! This time, David is pointing out that other humble people may be blessed by one’s humility. The blessings will spread around. In other places, such as Psalm 69:32, he praises God for some delivery or mercy, and says “the humble have seen it and are glad.” Humility shares the blessing.

There is a story about the popular personality types, choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholy. It says if someone is standing on a bridge contemplating suicide, the laidback phlegmatic will walk on by, the forceful choleric will order him to “Snap out of it!” the lively sanguine will try—for a few minutes, anyway—to cheer him up, and the sympathetic melancholy will listen to his story and then jump off with him!


Of course, this story intends, in a tongue-in-cheek way, to show what these personality types might do if they are not in connection with their Creator. What if the redeemed phlegmatic, naturally calm, tried to pour oil on troubled waters; the choleric, naturally strong, offered some practical help; the melancholy, naturally sensitive, listened lovingly to his story; and the sanguine, naturally cheerful, started a praise service? If they worked together in Spirit-led community, and if they praised God together, sharing times He’d gotten them through some hard spot, then, according to the rest of Psalm 69:32, the lonely heart would revive. Now there’s a reward for some humble, shared praising of the God who is bigger than all of us, but near enough to hold us!

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