Humility

The word humility in the Bible infers one who is weak in himself, one who is lowly, one who is poor in spirit, one who is low in his or her own estimation. Humility is the opposite of pride and arrogance. James 4:10, Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. Humbling yourself means recognizing that your worth comes from God alone and that without God you are nothing. It is recognizing your desperate need as humans for God’s help and guidance in life and submitting to His will in everything. When you humble yourself before God you are saying to God that He is sovereign and you are His subjects. It is understanding that humans are rebellious sinners and that God is holy and righteous, and that no one could never approach Him, save for His grace.  

Authentic biblical humility has never been in vogue in society and it is certainly frowned upon today in American culture. Americans revel in pride and self-aggrandizement. It is taught early in life to kids to hold on to their pride, love themselves more and express themselves in any way they want. This gives way to adults who believe they know it all and think they have no weaknesses. They pride themselves on their own achievements and believe they are above other people. They have egos that grow with every look in the mirror, but their inflated view of themselves is totally out of touch with reality. The final result is a culture full of sociopathic and narcissistic people (1 John 2:16).

However, this problem of pride is not just in culture, it is even in the church. Many professing Christians are not humble, but rather they boast in themselves and puff themselves up (1 Timothy 3:6; James 4:16). This was a serious issue in the first century since the writers of the New Testament mention it so often concerning believers (Romans 12:3; 1 Peter 5:5). Christians can struggle to maintain a consistent attitude of humility. The remedy is to fight, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to combat pride. This is a Christian’s duty and delight, knowing that God desires humble people. Jesus spoke about exalting humble people in Luke 18:14, For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Jesus promises He will blessed humility. This truth goes back into the Old Testament. Proverbs 3:34, Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. Psalm 149:4 affirms, For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

The Apostle Paul was a tremendously humble man and he said in Philippians 2:3, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. He is telling believers to get their minds off themselves and their own ambitions, and look for the betterment of others. God is not looking for people who think that they have it all together. He does not want us to be proud of our own achievements and have a big ego. Rather He is looking for humble hearts that seek the glory of God and the blessing of our neighbors. Isaiah 66:2, On this one will I look: On him who is humble and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at My Word.