Christmas is the Time of Humility
The Thai language has an endless number of words related to emotions that use the word jai, or “heart.” And since most Thai are concerned about saving face (and losing face!), one of the common “heart” words is noi joi, which roughly translates as feeling slighted, hurt, or overlooked.
Have you ever felt slighted? At one time or another, all of us have felt unhappy and hurt because someone overlooked us or did not give us credit. Even though we have knowledge, position, and dignity, someone fails to give us the honor that we are due. We are someone that others should respect and honor, but instead they dishonor and disrespect us. Don't they know who I am?!
They might not know who we are. They might not know where we went to school. They might not know about our experience or expertise in one area or another. Maybe they think we did something wrong when we know that we were in the right. And even worse than that, maybe they know who we are, but they have intentionally chosen to disrespect us, deride us, blame us, and criticize us in front of other people. We have lost face. When someone does that to us, it feels awful. We feel slighted, upset, and hurt because we know that we are better than that. We are better and smarter than other people are willing to admit.
When other people overlook and disrespect us, we often think that we have good reason to feel slighted. We feel like we have a good reason to get angry. We have a good reason to get revenge, insult, or explode on someone in a rage of emotion… don’t we? God tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves but we don’t feel like loving some neighbors because they slighted us. But do we really have good reason to feel this way? In this post, I want to tell you about a certain person who had more reason than anyone else in the history of the world to get upset because he was slighted… but he didn’t do so. That person is Jesus Christ.
When the Son of God was still in heaven with his Father, an innumerable number of angels continually bowed down and worshipped him. Every spirit in heaven worshipped Him because they all knew and acknowledged his holiness and greatness. The Son was worthy of all worship, and no one overlooked him. When he was in heaven, the Son of God had a very comfortable existence. His glory was always acknowledged and exalted.
But when the Son of God the Father came into this world and born as a man, there were very few who knew who he was and acknowledged his greatness. The apostle John explained, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:10-11). When Jesus was in this world, most people overlooked his beauty, his greatness, his honor, and his glory. The Jewish leaders criticized and disdained him again and again. But Jesus never got upset because he felt slighted. He never got annoyed with other people because they were not honoring him as befits his status as the Son of God.
When Jesus was still in heaven, he braced himself to enter into a world that was going to constantly overlook his glory, look down on him, and mock him. When Jesus was overlooked and insulted, what kind of attitude and reaction did he have towards other people? The apostle Paul explained that though Jesus “was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:6-8)
Jesus is infinitely good and without blemish. He is worthy of the highest honor because he created the world and is over all. Jesus is therefore the only person in the history of the world who really has a reason to get upset because he has been slighted. As for us, we are sinners whose actions are often good and evil mixed together. We often feel slighted because we regard ourselves too highly and think we are better than other people. But we don’t have nearly as much reason to feel slighted as Jesus did. Yet Jesus didn’t get upset or annoyed with those who dishonored him. Instead of being indignant, Jesus humbled himself and served us. Jesus was more interested in the honor that comes from God than the honor that comes from man. This is the reason why Jesus did get upset at being slighted and overlooked.
During this Christmas season and throughout the year, let us remember just how much Jesus humbled himself in order to redeem us from pride, selfish ambition and conceit. We are sinners worthy of judgment. But instead of condemnation, we have received grace. Even if we are sometimes overlooked or insulted, Jesus was overlooked and insulted so much more than us. Let us follow Jesus’ example. Instead of getting upset, angry, or annoyed at being slighted, let us humble ourselves and entrust ourselves to God who will lift up and honor everyone deserving of honor at the right time.
