Honest Humility

Chuckle: "Sometimes I think I understand everything, then I regain consciousness!"

Quote: "Humility is a strange thing; the moment you think you have it, you have lost it." --Author Unknown

"You younger men, accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for 'God sets himself against the proud but he shows favor (gives grace) to the humble.' So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you" (I Peter 5:5b-6 NLT).

People of all ages can benefit from Peter's instructions. The opposite of humility is pride, and pride often keeps older people from trying to understand younger people and keeps younger people from listening to those who are older. Pride makes us continue to argue our point even after we know in our hearts that we are wrong. Let's see if we can learn from God's Word how we can live honestly with genuine humility.

I like Andrew Murray’s definition of humility: "Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble. The humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself, he simply does not think of himself at all."

An humble person is more secure than a proud person because humility gives a more accurate perspective of one's self and the world. It does not mean that we should put ourselves down because we know we have great worth in God's Kingdom. Rather, we are to lay aside selfishness and treat others with understanding, respect, and common courtesy. When we consider others' interests as more important than our own, we become linked with Christ who is our true example of humility.

The importance of humility springs from the fact that it is found as part of the character of God himself. The word meaning humility is used in the New Testament to describe a condition of low estate brought about by the judgment of God; and also it describes a spirit of lowliness which enables God to bring special blessings to the humble. Paul teaches us to emulate the humility of Christ, who willingly and deliberately set aside His divine prerogatives and humbled Himself, thus receiving exaltation from the Father. "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on the cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place. ." (Philippians 2:8-9a NIV). Setting our desires aside for the sake of serving others is following Jesus' example.

Like all virtues, humility can be simulated or faked, and the danger of false humility is real. We can become proud of our own humility and thereby lose what humility we may have had. We have humility only when our motives are so pure we are unaware that we have it, even as others see it in us.

 Love, Jerry & Dotse