What
is humility? We have all heard and are
taught to be humble. We think of
humility as weakness, but it is the opposite.
It is the opposite of pride and arrogance. It is really just surrendering our will to
God’s will. We try to be humble, but none
of us have reached true humility. True
humility is to see others more significant than ourselves.
The
Bible speaks a lot on humility. Zephaniah 2:3 tells us to seek
righteousness and humility. We are to
recognize humility is intertwined with all the attributes of holiness. You can’t be humble and not be righteous and
you cannot be righteous and not be humble.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves.”
– Phil. 2:3
We
need to be humble for many reasons. For
one God opposes the proud. “All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” –
1 Peter 5:5
“to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show
true humility toward all men.”- Titus
3:2.
“The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes
before honor.” – Prov. 15:33
“There, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Col.
3:12
Jesus
is the perfect model of humility and we are to be like Him in all we do. Philippians
2:5 and 8 tells us our attitudes should be the same as that of Christ and
that He humbled Himself and became obedient even to death on a cross. He didn’t want to be tortured and die, but He
put the will of God before Himself.
It
is hard to be humble all the time. “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit” – Gal. 5:17. We as humans have a sin nature and want to
ignore God’s commands and not deny self.
We don’t want to work at being humble, because it takes effort. It is also hard, because the enemy, Satan
controls the world and hates God’s work.
He tries to control us. His chief
characteristic is pride. He comes to
steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).
Do
you consider yourself humble?
Do
you model the life of Jesus?
How
is your life full of humility and patience?
Would
others say you are proud or humble?
Here
are a few ways and suggestions that I hope will help you be more humble:
Listen
more and talk less
Count
to 3 before adding to a conversation to ensure the other person is done
Show
interest in other’s conversation even if you don’t get to talk about your
idea
Always
give credit when it’s other person’s idea
Ask
others for their opinion
Ask
others to join in the conversation
You
don’t have to be right all the time
Admit
when you are wrong
Admit
when you don’t understand or know something
Appreciate
others
Be
quick to apologize
Use
moral principles to guide you
Remember
you are God’s creation, not your own
Recognize
your talents as gifts from God, not your own ability
Know
how your skills have been developed by the help of others
Pass
on what you have learned
Give
thanks when others help you
Value
other people’s time
Don’t
boast about your achievements
Help
other people with their goals
Realize
the potential in others
Know
that timing is everything and everyone excels at different times in life
Being
the 1st follower is often the best way to lead
You
don’t have to be right all the time
Recognize
that you have faults
Remember
you are a sinner and you are no better or worse than anyone else
Ignore
first impressions of people
Give
others the benefit of the doubt
Provide
positive and encouraging feedback instead of criticism
Make
a choice to act more humbly and practice it
at least once each day
Be
grateful for successes without boasting
Know
how to accept praise with a simple thank you
Share
your core values and live them regardless of the circumstances
Prioritize
things in your life
Be
less significant
Forgive
those who wronged you and move on without revenge or lashing back
Serve
others first putting self last
Seek
wisdom
Recognize
there is always more to learn
Avoid
explosive reactions and aggression
Accept
new ideas and change
Ask
God to help you be more humble
Learn
from and model the life of Jesus
In
summary – humility is submitting ourselves to God’s will and obeying Him. It is the attitude of the heart. We learn humility by studying God’ Word and
the actions of Jesus. We are to love others
and put them before ourselves. We are to
be very careful and not allow pride and self-centeredness take over us. It is hard to be humble, but we are to make
it our goal to please God. “… we make it our goal to
please him…” – 2 Cor. 5:9.
Ask yourself these questions - Would others say you are humble? Would others say you are quick to forgive and
difficult to offend? Would they say you
are patient and not easily frustrated?
Would they say you are a peacemaker?
Would they say you know when to be quiet and when to speak? Would they say you like serving others? Would they say you are thankful and live with
a good attitude? Would they say you
treat everyone with respect?
I hope this has
given you something to think about – and pray about. Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you here next time.
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