Going Down?

When I was little, my grandmother asked if I’d ever seen a moving staircase. I had no idea what she was talking about, so off to the mall we went. Tightly gripping the rail and my grandma’s hand, I stepped on, and we ascended into the clouds — well, the second floor.

Fast-forward to adulthood. In contrast to an easy ride up the escalator, most of us seem to be scrambling to climb our own staircases of power. It takes a lot of effort to earn a little (overdue) respect, gain (meager) recognition, get that (clearly deserved) raise, sign that (profitable) contract, nail that (essential) career move or catch a little slack from the in-laws.

Society tells us success depends largely upon shameless self-promotion. You’re supposed to proclaim your own successes and worthiness.

The only problem: Self-achievement and horn-tooting run counter to Scripture. People and tribes who foolishly tried to gain recognition and power (Pharaoh, Edom, Sennacherib and the ruler of Tyre come to mind) found a dead end (Ezekiel 31:1-14; Obadiah 3-4; 2 Chronicles 32; Ezekiel 28:2-9).

Plus, Psalm 75:4 says, “To the arrogant, I say, ‘Boast no more. . . . Do not lift up your horns.’ “ The Bible opposes self-promotion, instead teaching that salvation, righteousness, help, favor, answers to life’s issues and glory come from the Lord, not from exalting ourselves. These are gifts, not rights.

Don’t look at me

So how do we avoid aggrandizing ourselves in a world that constantly pushes us to take this approach?

This question poses an interesting problem for me as a book author. God put it on my heart to write a book, but the writing was only a small part of the process. I’m expected to promote the book; I find myself doing this reluctantly.

My struggle goes like this: As part of the calling from God to write the book and serve others, do I self-promote because it goes with the territory? Is this part of following through on God’s vision? Will my book sell if I don’t do my part? But isn’t promoting myself contrary to God’s call to humbleness?

It’s a paradox without a clear answer. So I promote my book — and seek humility at the same time.

Whatever the outcome, the bottom line is that God requires us to learn humility. And here’s what I love about Jesus: He doesn’t just tell us what to do; He shows how to do it.

Out of love, God the Son left His heavenly glory and stooped down among us to lift us up. This is what the Christmas story is all about. Reflecting on this story, Paul said that before Jesus ascended to heaven, He had to descend to the earthly and human plane and become a servant (Ephesians 4:10; Philippians 2:4-8). He put others above himself — as seen in washing the disciples’ feet. He obeyed God the Father instead of protecting His earthly reputation — as seen during His trial when He had every right and truth to defend His name.

Get over yourself

The human way of self-promotion is often to lie, buy, bribe, pull strings, call in favors, fake, bully, connive, manipulate and otherwise climb over others. Jesus displayed none of these actions but acted with humility and obedience (Hebrews 5:5-10).

No matter what, it’s scary to “go down,” to put aside the hunt for promotion, the hope for success, the desire for recognition. It’s kind of like that trip with my grandmother.

Eventually we had to go down the escalator. As we stepped toward the brink, the stairs dropped away. As a kid, I had to muster all my courage to step over the moving metal teeth onto the “ledge.”

Humility is like that: You go down in obedience, not knowing what the outcome will be. You do it anyway, dying to self, realizing it might not be safe, yet trusting that God will act justly in the end. As Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).