Day 228, Year 1

Redirecting Misplaced Humility

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.” (Colossians 2:18 NASB)

The word “self-abasement” (tapeinophrosune) in today’s verse also means “a deep sense of one’s littleness, modesty, humility, or lowliness of mind,” and refers to fake modesty here. This word also has a positive meaning, which is often used in interpersonal relationships. For those who are willing to be humble, there is a risk of misdirecting their humility. The word “delight” means “to will, intend, to purpose, to desire, to wish, to like to do a thing, or be fond of doing.” In other words, there are those who deliberately humble themselves and take pleasure in it. The word “angel,” aggelos in Greek, also means “a messenger (from God), envoy, or one who is sent.” One of the temptations that humble people face is not to worship God, but to worship other valued or respected people, or even God’s messengers. After all, the messengers are more visible, more approachable, seem more secure, and less challenging than God. However, the humility that we seek in God is a humility that grows our faith in Him.

According to today’s verse, taking their stand on invisible visions people have seen can lead them to err in terms of humility. Whether clinging to what we had seen or not, it is a fatal error to substitute Jesus as the only Lord with visions or dreams, even with a humble attitude. In fact, many people who have converted from paganism to Jesus are easily tempted to continue to practice divination, necromancy, and other harmful philosophies or vices. Contrarily, while true believers do not disregard His guidance, we will never worship any vision or guidance as if it were God Himself.

Fake humility can be used to foster lust. Fake humbleness, which is a form of hypocrisy, is to decorate one’s lust so that nobody would notice. And such humility fuels the burgeoning of lust, while distorted humility serves lustful devices. In addition, unwarranted arrogance can be made through fake humbleness. The word “without cause” is eike in Greek, and also means “without purpose, without just cause, without reason, in vain, or without success.” Arrogance without reason can be fueled with fake humility. It reflects only the ignorance and absurdity of those people, and even reveals their nature of imitating Satan’s. Wrong humility cannot save. Every believer needs to discern and stay away from fake humbleness while offering timely warning signs to the prideful people around us with His guidance. 

Reflection questions:

1) Have you ever misplaced your humility or humbleness on the wrong people or messengers in the past? If so, how did you correct it with God’s help?

2) How should believers deal with lust if we do not adorn them with humility?