Two False Humilities in Pastoral Ministry
Minister today without regard for your exaltation. Let the Lord worry about that. Live up to what he says you are, and do not seek to be more (or less) than that.
Humility can be false in two ways. A man may think too lowly or too highly of himself. When he considers himself more lowly than he ought, he beats himself down and claims he is less than God says he is. When he considers himself more highly than he ought, he puffs himself up and thinks of himself as more than God says he is.
Thinking too lowly of oneself is an easy path. We are indeed lowly, sinful, in need of infinite help, and unable to remedy our deepest ills, but we are also sanctified in Christ and called to be saints (1 Cor. 1:2). When a man thinks too lowly of himself, he tends toward inaction. He will never set his feet on the path of action for God’s kingdom. “Who am I,” he asks, “to assume such lofty ambitions?”
The man who forsakes the command to be a doer, and not a hearer only (James 1:22), deceives himself and neglects his assignments under a cloud of self-doubt and harmful, unbiblical self-abasement.
On the other hand, a man who thinks too highly of himself is often busy with much doing! He wants accolades but must arrange to receive them by many happy accidents. He must carefully manipulate situations and people so that they trip into admiring him while he appears to rebuff their admiration. He must do this so that people never see his real self, who craves attention, admiration and even a certain measure of fame. He must appear to be humble at all costs, so that his pride may grow in secret.
Finding the Balance
Both these false humilities are masks for pride. Both fail the test of humility, rightly expressed in the adage “not thinking less of oneself but thinking of oneself less.” Both are covers for the self-indulgence of self-focus.
How can we find a balance as ministers of the gospel?
Here is one of the paradoxes of Christian ministry. As pastors, we are to be highly esteemed, but we are, in a sense, interchangeable, replaceable. We handle the secret and hidden wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:7), but they are his mysteries, not ours. We are to be honoured, respected, and even obeyed (Heb. 13:17), but not because we have taken power in the hierarchy of authority. No, because God has assigned us a great weight of responsibility.
We must take care not to be raised too high in the eyes of the people to whom we are assigned, but we must be equally careful not to be brought low in ways that hinder the message of the gospel. Both of these are pitfalls, so we must find the path between.
Servants and Stewards
So here’s the balance that Paul writes of in 1 Cor. 4: Pastors are just servants, which is a low position, but we are servants of the Lord, of Jesus Christ, and there is no higher calling! Pastors are just stewards; we own nothing, but we are stewards of the mysteries of God, which means we have direct access to the greatest treasure available and are called to distribute the good news to others!
As pastors, we are both among the people to whom we are assigned and over them (1 Thes. 5:12). In the world’s system of values, a position over others is an asset to be exploited. Pastors do hold a position, even an office, but this position is not an asset to be exploited for personal gain. This responsibility is a burden to be carried. And if it is to be exploited at all, it is to be exploited for the good of others.
Every aspiring pastor should have a statement firmly fixed in his memory and engraved on his ethos of pastoral ministry. It is this promise, issued repeatedly in Scripture: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Minister today without regard for your exaltation. Let the Lord worry about that. Live up to what he says you are, and do not seek to be more (or less) than that.
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Michael Krahn is a pastor, the husband of Anne Marie, and the father of Madeleine, Olivia, and Sophia. Make a connection on Facebook, X, or Instagram.