A Dose of Humility
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” I Peter 5:6
Did you hear the one about the man who became proud of his humility? Probably not. I don’t have a specific story about such a man or woman, for that matter, but if there was one, it would definitely be an oxymoron, that is, when two things are put together that are contradictory of one another. Pride is the opposite of humility. What does it mean to be a humble person? According to Webster’s Dictionary, the term “humble” can denote a favorable or an unfavorable meaning. To be humble in the favorable sense is to display an unassuming character who is not prideful, assertive, or arrogant. I think of humility as putting others first, not demanding our way, and leaving the best parts of the fried chicken for others. At the Golden Corral or other “all-you-can-eat” restaurants where you serve yourself, it has been my observation that the majority of folks dig through the pan of fried chicken looking for the biggest and best piece for themselves rather than taking a smaller piece and leaving the bigger ones for others. That may seem like an insignificantly humble thing to do, but it is an example of the inner spirit of a person.
Humility is seeking to make lives better for others and not being obsessed with our own comforts and choices. As far as an unfavorable connotation of humble as a verb, Webster’s New World Thesaurus has numerous unflattering and somewhat derogatory synonyms: shame, mortify, chasten, demean oneself, demote, lower, crush, etc. Some folks consider living as a humble person as a weakness believing that the humble can easily be taken advantage of by the more aggressive folks. Humility is not high on the worldly list of the traits of a successful person. Pride can also have a favorable and unfavorable meaning. An example of a favorable meaning of pride would be to be proud of one’s children for their good behavior or good grades, etc. That is more of a delight or satisfaction in one’s achievements. The unfavorable meaning of pride is an extremely high opinion of oneself so much so that it can lead to the inability to realize the need for God. This is why God hates pride (Proverb 6:17).
There is a phrase that people use, and I have heard it in several television commercials: “you should get what you deserve”. That phrase or one similar is used to sell products. If they can convince one that he or she deserves what they are advertising, then they have probably made a sale. To deserve something is to have a right to it because of acts or qualities; to be worthy of; or to merit (Webster’s). Those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ know that none of us deserve forgiveness of sin and salvation, but we can receive those by God’s grace through faith in Christ. There is no merit on our part involved. If a person believes that he or she deserves something, there is some pride involved in that. When someone tells me that I deserve so and so, I feel the same way that I do when someone says they will “never” do so and so. I think that is called “cringeworthy”.
To be humble before God is to be submissive to Him. There we go again with that word “submissive”. Folks do not understand submissiveness even though they practice it daily, to their boss, to red lights, to waiting their turn at the doctor’s office, to the doctor, to the schoolteacher or professor, to the police officer who pulls them over, and so on. God gives us the grace to be humble, but we have to receive that grace and let it work humility into our lives. Folks like to feel important. Many try to attain some level of prestige by haughty, arrogant means rather than be submissive, humble, and willing to serve. They don’t see humility as a steppingstone to greatness. However, that is exactly how God sees it. When we humble ourselves under His control and dominion, He will exalt, or bring us to a higher level of honor, in His timing. It could be while we are still on earth, or in heaven, or maybe both. I have found in my life that if I pay attention to what God says about living a life pleasing to Him and follow His direction, my life, while not free of difficulties, will be far better than if I live by my own ideas. A humble heart is much more at peace than a heart of pride.