“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor” (1 Peter 5:6NLT) “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor” (James 4:10NLT)
We human beings are seekers. We seek truth, glory, love, wealth, security, power, happiness, recognition, reputation and immortality. We also seek wisdom and knowledge. All men by nature desire knowledge. As fallen humans, our sins had separated us from God. He is Holy and cannot abide with sin. It is incompatible with who He is. To bridge that gap, we know that God came to us in human form to bear our iniquities and unite us back to himself. In the same way that sin contrasts with a Holy God, pride opposes God. All sin begins with pride. God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.
Bible says “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13) Humility keeps you focused on God and His ways. The scripture tells us, “In all our ways know God.” He gives wisdom and guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. Apostle Paul says "Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."(1 Corinthians 1:24) and “Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:2) is “the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages” (1 Corinthians 2:7) The very Creator God comes to earth as a human being. If Jesus is exactly who He said He was, then everything He said is truth. Our entire future depends on whether we believe that. Jesus declared, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Paul writes that “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).
Humility is royalty without a crown
The glory of God, the truth of God and God Himself were revealed to every human being in the person of Jesus Christ. Humility is not true humility unless it lines up with truth. Jesus did not only teach His message. He was identical with His message …He did not just proclaim the truth. He said, ‘I am the truth.’ He did not just show a way. He said, ‘I am the way.’ He did not just open up ways. He said, ‘I am the door.’ ‘I am the Good Shepherd.’ Jesus wasn’t just a teacher of a superior ethic, He was the Way. Jesus didn’t just promise eternal life, He said, “I am the resurrection and the life” ’ ‘I am the I AM’” Jesus said: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” Jesus represented the Father perfectly. The only assessment that generates true humility is when we see God as He is and us as we are. True humility can be defined as the true measure of a man in relation to Christ. Paul says that Christ is “the wisdom of God” The pure and holy life of Jesus was one constant exhibition of humility. In the great plan of salvation by grace is purposed and provided that the divine character be implanted in the character of man.
Humility is the most beautiful of the beatitudes. There are many things in life that are beautiful. When God created the universe, it was with the one object of making the human participant of His perfection and blessedness, and so showing forth in it the glory of His love and wisdom and power. The life God bestows is imparted not once for all, but each moment continuously, by the unceasing operation of His mighty power. It is often said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” When we catch a glimpse of who God is we realize we are nothing without Him or compared to Him. This is what it means to be humble in the sight of the Lord. When we get the revelation of the Creator behind the beautiful creation then we know our limits. When we realize that all our accomplishment are neither by might nor by power but by divine enablement, then we become humble (Zechariah 4:6) The first recorded temptation took place when the snake told Eve in Genesis 3:4-5 that she will be like God if she ate the forbidden fruit. Since then, mankind had been trying to play God. You are not God. Never been, never will be. In fact, if you want to really enjoy life, recognize that the One and Only God is your source for everything you are and have. (1 Corinthians 4:7)
There are three great reasons that urge us to be humble. It becomes me as a creature, as a sinner, and as a saint. Humility is a natural by-product of intimacy with God. When I am with Him, I know Him. When I know Him, I better know who I am. When I see myself rightly, I am humbled. The first definition of ‘humility’ in the Oxford English Dictionary is “The quality of being humble or having a lowly opinion of oneself.” There is an old and frequently quoted adage that says: “With age comes wisdom. “But It needs to be restated here “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” In other words Wisdom does not necessarily come with age nor does it come automatically with age.
How do we acquire wisdom? A long time ago, Confucius gave his answer to that question: “By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” However, the bottom line is this: all the above suggestion can only teach so much and often teaches the wrong things. Experience can help us but the easiest and shortest route to wisdom is through humility – as a Bible says, “Humility comes before wisdom”. You will not find a wise person who is arrogant or self-centered. So wisdom comes when we know, and will admit, that we do not know everything. True humility starts on the inside although it may manifest itself outwardly. It is primarily an attitude of the heart. It submits to God and legitimate authority. It recognizes virtues and talents that others possess, particularly those that surpass one’s own, and gives due honor and, when required, obedience.
Humility is the opposite of pride. It is lowliness. It is that grace which enables us to have faith in God. How can they have faith who are lifted up with pride. It is that grace which keeps love burning in our hearts. We can never see how much God loves us and how great is His goodness unless we see how dependent we are upon Him; consequently we cannot love Him as we should unless we are truly humble. It is humility that helps us to be patient amid the trying scenes of life. Without humility there is no true rest of the soul, no true contentment of mind, no true happiness of heart.
The Bible tells us that “God hates pride” and humility is the key to gaining wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 says “When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom.” The reason God hates pride so much is because pride separates us from Him; it quenches His Spirit in us; and it prevents His Life in our hearts from flowing out into our lives. Pride not only builds walls between God and us, it also puts a barrier between others and us. It constantly brings contention, division and strife. The natural man is born full of himself. The process whereby he gets filled with God as he empties himself is humility. It is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God. Where God is all, self is nothing. A humble person is one who is content to know the Lord from his heart, not his head. He readily recognizes, acknowledges and confesses his sin and self; thus he is able to be filled with the Spirit and reflect Christ in all He does. A humble person will not try to draw attention to himself, but to his Lord and others. The essence of humility is always God-centeredness. It gives us the ability to learn and to be corrected. If true greatness could be described with one word, based on all the theological facts, it would have to be humility.
Humility prepares the avenue to your heart for God’s grace. Humility makes God feel at home with you. Pride drives Him away. Any attribute that draws us closer to God is a crucial one to possess. We all need God’s grace. James 4:6 – “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” St Augustine: “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” Charles Spurgeon said “Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace” It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. D.L. Moody said “Be humble or you'll stumble. “ What does it really mean to be humble? And how can we cultivate this attribute which God prizes so highly.
Humility comes from the root word humus, which means earth, soil. Naturally and organically we are creatures of the earth. Ego is considered a big impediment not only for a seeker desirous of God but it also dampens one’s life. From a spiritual perspective, ego means considering oneself distinct from others and God. Due to ego, we do all actions with the understanding which is limited to the 5 senses, mind and intellect. To reduce ego we have to listen to God and godly people. When we make efforts to reduce ego as per the directives of a spiritual authority then our spiritual progress happens rapidly. True humility produces godliness, contentment, and security. (Philippians 2:3)We come nearest to the great God when we are great in humility. The door that leads to unity is humility.
Our culture is very status conscious and people naturally want to socialize upward. Even Jesus was derided by the Pharisees for socializing with the poor and those of lowly state. (Luke 7:36-39). The Greek word translated “humility” in Colossians 3:12 and elsewhere literally means “lowliness of mind,” so we see that humility is a heart attitude, not merely an outward demeanor. Jesus said that those who are “poor in spirit” would have the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, humility is a prerequisite for the disciples. When we come to God as sinners, we must come in humility. We acknowledge that we are paupers and beggars who come with nothing to offer Him but our sin and our need for salvation. We recognize our lack of merit and our complete inability to save ourselves.
St. Augustine said "The sufficiency of my merit is to know that my merit is not sufficient." Humility is not so much a grace or virtue along with others; it is the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God, and allows Him as God to do all…. A humble person’s goal is to elevate God and encourage others. Bible says “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humility before God is not complete unless there is also humility before man.
Two thousand years ago Jesus achieved the extraordinary and shifted the whole conversation around leadership so it became impossible not to think of leaders in terms of their humility or lack thereof. Jesus said “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor” (Matthew 23:11-12)
Jesus himself said it plainly, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). Jesus was born in a manger in a stable, in a little, out-of-the-way town. His family was poor and of no account in society. The witnesses of his birth were shepherds, sheep and cattle. He was called the Lamb of God many times in Scripture. A lamb has no power. It is at the mercy of its shepherd. Jesus said to his disciples, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”( Mark 10:42-45) Whatever titles we may have earned, whatever degrees may hang on our wall, being like Jesus will mean we never lord our authority over others, or try to make them feel inferior to us.
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.”Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them”. John 13:12-17
“In God’s family, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 18:3-4). We should be humble because God is humble. Humility is not only necessary to enter the kingdom of God, it is also necessary to be great in the kingdom (see Matthew 20:26–27) Just as He did not come to be served, but to serve, so must we commit ourselves to serving others in all lowliness of mind, always considering others better than ourselves? Men think too much of themselves on one account or another — either on account of some external condition, or on account of some internal traits and qualities.
Life is a long lesson in humility
There are three things that earthly riches can never do; they can never satisfy Divine justice, they can never appease Divine wrath, nor can they ever silence a guilty conscience. And till these things are done man is undone. Further, wisdom, power, and riches are all things which we must leave at death, even if they do not before leave us. The cure of the false is by putting the true in its place. Humility is the ladder to divine understanding. There is no rest for us in this broken world till we get to know God, till God is our portion. When we get there, we “die to self” so that we can live as new creations in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Jesus, of course, is our perfect example. Listen to how Paul describes His humility in Philippians 2:5-8“In your relationships with one another have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross!” If anyone had a legitimate reason to be prideful, it was Christ. He was God’s only beloved Son. Yet He, even He, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death. Humility, therefore, is the only pathway to genuinely reflecting Christ and being a living example of all that He is.
Jesus humbled Himself unto death, and opened the path in which we too must walk. In death He gave the highest, the perfect proof of having given up His will to the will of God. In death He gave up His self, with its natural hesitation to drink the cup; He gave up the life He had in union with our human nature; He died to self, and the sin that tempted Him; so, as man, He entered into the perfect life of God. If it had not been for His boundless humility, counting Himself as nothing except as a servant to do and suffer the will of God, He never would have died. His humility gave His death its value, and so became our redemption. And now the salvation He imparts is nothing less and nothing else than a communication of His own life and death, His own disposition and spirit, His own humility, as the ground and root of His relation to God and His redeeming work.
Philippians 2:7-8 talks about Christ's humility and sets out the divine leadership style: Humility and gentleness are the invariable associates of true wisdom. The two were united, in their respective fullness of perfection, in Jesus. So St Paul says “Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who emptied Himself; taking the form of a servant; and humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death"; "(see Phil. 2: 5-8) There was great beauty in His humility. His humility is our salvation. It brings forgiveness, salvation, and hope for every situation of life for those who believe. This humility of Jesus is the saving grace of the world.
In the Gospel of John we have the inner life of humility of our blessed Lord Jesus laid open to us. Listen to the words in which our Lord speaks of His relation to the Father. "The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5: 19) "I can of My own self do nothing; My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will" (John 5: 30) "I receive not glory from men" (John 5: 41) "I am come not to do Mine own will" (John 6:38) "My teaching is not Mine" (John 7:16) "I am not come of Myself" (John 7:28) "I do nothing of Myself" (John 8:28) "I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me" (John 8: 42). "I seek not Mine own glory" (John 8:50) "The words that I say, I speak not from Myself" (John 14: 10). "The word which ye hear is not Mine" (John 14: 24). These words open to us the deepest roots of Christ's humility and work. We must be like Christ in His self-emptying. Jesus taught us to come to Him to learn meekness. He said “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29)
Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.
