“He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent the rich away empty-handed…..Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.” Luke 1:51-53, 80 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/luk.1.51-80.NASB2020

The Lord despises the proud but takes great delight in the humble. Why is this so? God is so humble. He allows demons to move freely, almost at will, in His universe, doing deeds of evil. He allows men to ignore Him, mock Him, reject Him, and disobey Him, all to win them through patient love. The Lord is indeed humble for He is all-powerful, all-mighty, He rules the heavens and the earth, and none can stay His hand nor thwart His will. The Lord will judge all men for He alone can send men to hell and pardon men for heaven. Having wealth, having earthly power, should be a fearful thing for us. It makes us haughty, it keeps us from faith and trust in God, and it hinders us from obedience to God by distracting us from what is most important. God’s most important prophet did not spend his youth making a name for himself but rather remained unknown, obscure, perhaps even rejected for being so odd with the rest of the world. John the one selected to prepare the way for the Lord, was humble before God and men. If we would be used greatly by God and therefore receive God’s great reward, we must be humble before God and embrace the life of humility before men. Men despise humility but God rewards humility. The man of God is to promote the ways of God and the person of Jesus as Savior and Lord of all. The normal human life is to self-promote and self-preserve. The normal Christian life is to die to self in order for the life and work of Jesus to increase in us and through us for His glory on earth as it is in heaven.