Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch, Fredericksburg, IA
Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Sing a Song of Sixpence
A Pocket Full of Rye
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Baked in a Pie
When the Pie was opened the Birds Began to Sing
Wasn’t that a Dainty Dish to set before the King
Believe it or not, this isn’t just a nursery rhyme. In the 17th Century, royalty actually commissioned pies with live animals, often times birds or frogs, as a “surprise” for their guests! When I think of pie, I think of sweet treats, but pies come in all assortments from those sweet dessert pies to savory meat pies. And don’t forget about pocket pies like: pasties, turnovers, empanadas, and calzones. Historians believe the savory pies came first. Egyptians and Greeks enjoyed one crust pies, and then the Romans added the second crust.
It might be safe to say that everyone’s least favorite pie is humble pie. This phrase now means to admit one was wrong or to humiliatingly accept defeat. Still, humble pie is based on a real pie. Known in Middle Ages as umbles pie, it was made from the offal (entrails) of a deer or hog. Considered as inferior food, it was deemed humiliating to serve this dish. Therefore, only the poorest folks would eat umbles pie. With the unique etymology of the English language, an h was added and the s removed to create the idiom we know today – humble pie. Still, the actual word humble comes from the Latin word humilis meaning low. So, it’s no wonder that the word humble often has negative connotations.
If Jesus had been born in the Middle Ages, it’s likely umbles pie would have been on the menu at Joseph and Mary’s house. When Jesus was small, the Wise Men from the East went to King Herod’s palace first searching for the new King. Why not? Where else would the King of Kings reside? But Philippians 2: 7-8 gives us a much different picture of our King. “He gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, He humbled himself and was fully obedient to God. He obeyed even when that caused his death—death on a cross.”
He redefines humble. Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” He is infinitely strong and powerful, but so self-controlled and full of love that He set the example for Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
His love is so deep for us that He humbled himself so that when we cry out to Him, He understands. There is no earthly experience we could possibly endure that He didn’t willingly go through as well. Poverty, hunger, abuse, homelessness, loss, He knows what you are going through. 1 Corinthians 1:28-29, “He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. This means that no one can boast in God’s presence.”
While I’m not ready to add umbles pie to the Monday night menu, I am willing to redefine my view of humble. Not low, but low-key. Not subservient, but surrendered and submitting. Not disdained, but cherished and fully loved.
