The GOAT in Humility
LeBron James on Feb. 7 broke a National Basketball Association scoring record that had been on the books since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired with 38,387 points in 1989. The feat triggered a flood of glowing news reports about James as the GOAT (“greatest of all time”) in basketball.
Reuters led its coverage with a flashback to James’ high school days, when he was declared the “Chosen One,” and also noted his reputation as “King James.” James was happy to play along. “I’m going to take myself against anybody that’s ever played this game,” he said.
That level of braggadocio is the norm in sports, where athletes love to boast and fans encourage them to do so. Who’s the GOAT in basketball, LeBron James or Michael Jordan? In football, Tom Brady or Jerry Rice? In baseball, Babe Ruth or Willie Mays? In boxing, there is no debate. Muhammad Ali said it himself: “I am the greatest!”
The opposite is true in the realm of spirituality. God’s Word repeatedly commends humility and just as often roundly condemns arrogance. The book of Proverbs associates pride with stumbling (16:18), sin (21:4), dishonor (11:2) and destruction (18:12), while humility leads to honor, wisdom and life. Then there is this warning: “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” (16:5)
New Testament writers reiterated the importance of humility as a character trait for Christians — in their relationships with God (James 4:6, I Peter 5:6) and with each other (Philippians 2:3). “Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly,” the apostle Paul said. “Do not be wise in your own estimation.” (Romans 12:16)
Paul and Barnabas demonstrated their own humility in Lystra after healing a man who had been lame from birth. The miracle convinced the pagans in the city that they were in the presence of the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes, but Paul and Barnabas refused their worship. “Men, why are you doing these things?” they said. “We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God.” (Acts 14:8-18)
That living God was actually the GOAT in humility — in the form of Jesus as the Son of Man. He preached it, and He lived it. Everything He said and did was to glorify the Father, not Himself. (John 8:54)
The preaching started in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:5) and continued throughout Jesus’ ministry, including within His parables (Luke 14:7-11, 18:9-14). When Jesus’ disciples verbally jockeyed for higher rank on the scale of greatness, He corrected them by taking a child in His arms and saying, “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.” (Mark 9:33-37)
Later, Jesus made the counterpoint by calling out the arrogance of the Pharisees. “The greatest of you shall be your servant,” He said. “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:1-12)
Jesus drove home His preaching about humility by practicing it Himself. At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:5-17). “If I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet,” He said. “For I gave you an example, so that you also would do just as I did for you. Truly, truly I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.”
Jesus’ greatest demonstration of humility came on the cross, the inevitable result of His obedience. And now His name is exalted above all names (Philippians 2:5-11). King James may well be the greatest basketball player of all time. But he is nothing next to the King of Kings.
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