HUMILITY BEFORE HONOR

Proverbs 15:26-3326 The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of thepure are pleasing to Him. 27 A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. 28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. 29 The Lord is far from the wicked but He hears the prayer of the righteous. 30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. 31 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. 32 He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding. 33 The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Had the Lord allowed him to live, my oldest brother Dick would have been 68 today. But God took him Home on Easter 1995. He died inSudbury, Ontario, where he and his wife Shirley had for many yearsbeen ministering to the needs of native Canadian people of theThree-Fires Confederacy (Ojibwe, Potawatami, and Odawa tribes).

Dick was given an "honor-drum" memorial that summer on the date ofhis birthday. It was performed by specially selected men from theWikwemikong Reserve on Manitoulin Island near the northern reachesof Lake Huron. This is a ceremony held only to honor those whose lives have made a positive impact on the indigenous community. Perhaps this was the first and only time a white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant missionary from the US was given an Ojibwe honor-drum ceremony on a Canadian Indian reserve.

But it was a ceremony well deserved. Richard Ohlman was a gentle, humble, honest, and self-effacing follower of Jesus who would never have imagined he would be memorialized as he was on that day. He served the people he and Shirley loved because he wanted them to have the same peace and joy he received from his faith in Jesus. He expected no honor for doing merely what he knew God wanted him to do. I think of Dick when I read of the wise and righteous man spoken of in Proverbs 15--one whose wisdom comes from the "fear of the Lord," one for whom "humility comes before honor" (v.33).

At Dick's funeral held in our parents' home church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an Ojibwe toddler escaped her parent's grasp and ran down the aisle. We were all mesmerized when she stopped and then stoodstill for a moment beside the casket.

We're not sure what was in the mind of that precious child, but my other brother Jim leaned over to me and whispered, "Dick would haveloved that!" I'm sure he did, for he loved the Ojibwe people--the people who later honored him. --Dean Ohlman

DESTINATION POINTS

* Is there someone who has impacted my life with a living demonstration of what it means to serve the Lord with humility?
* Have I taken time to honor that person for his or her example?
* In what ways could I show my regard for those who have shown me how to serve the Lord humbly and faithfully?

LINKS
Humility's Many Faces
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/014/37.96.html

bottom line: Those who seek honor rarely find it.

soul journey