Humility: True Example
by Maria Houpt
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning:
Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves,
measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Romans 12:3 (NLT)
I am not humble. There – I said it. I admit it. While I know my gifts are God-given, I sometimes take too much pride in them. Muhammed Ali once famously said, “It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.” But the Bible tells us in Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” It also tells us “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5). Ouch! That one stings!
Humility can be defined as a modest or low view of one's importance or the absence of pride. It is “an attitude of spiritual modesty that comes from understanding our place in the larger order of things. It entails not taking our desires, successes, or failings too seriously.”1
Humility increases when we allow ourselves to be humbled before God and by the situations around us. Our sinful nature does not want to be humbled because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We tend to defend our pride, but pride stands in the way of our relationship with God. He resists those who are prideful but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). He will help us when we desire humility but growing in humility can be uncomfortable. Despite the hardship, we can always find enough grace to help us as we endure the refining process.
So, what does it mean to be humbled by God? And how do we do that?
Being humbled by God is us aligning our hearts to be open to His Word. It is getting the job done without seeking attention. It is taking the attention off of ourselves and focusing on what matters – God! Here are three practical ways to help us humble ourselves before Him:
1. Take it to the Cross
Pride tells us we deserve recognition for our gifts and talents. In this sense, we are asking to be worshipped, but we only ignore that God alone deserves all worship. Learning to be more humble requires taking prideful moments and giving them to the Lord so they cannot grow further or deeper. Identifying areas of pride is vital to defeating it, so we must be prepared to agree with the Lord when He points them out to us. We should not waver in redirecting any praise we receive to our Lord. He is the true Source of all our gifts and talents.
2. Kneel at the Cross
In my mind, this could be to pray, repent, or both! Whenever we see that our actions aim to obtain favorable opinions from others, we should take it to the Lord. It's not always wrong to want to make a good impression, but when the majority of our choices are centered on pleasing others for our benefit, we may have a pride issue. Ask Him to examine your heart. "Am I eager to give You the praise, Lord, or keep some for myself? Please change my heart and my intentions." We can confess our wrong motivations and commit to doing only what glorifies the Lord and not us. We must humbly repent for our pride and all the times we have tried to control our lives in the false belief that we have the power to.
3. Above All Else – Look to the Cross
Jesus was a model of humility (Matthew 11:29). He taught that those who wish to be excellent must be the most humble (Matthew 23:12). Many areas in Scripture instruct us to humble ourselves (Ephesians 4:2; 1 Peter 3:8; 5:6), and if we don't humble ourselves, God will do it for us, and that will be more painful (Luke 1:52; 18:14). When we surrender ourselves to the will of God, there is no space for pride. He may want us to do some humbling things, but it will benefit us. We work together with Him by pursuing trivial jobs, working behind the scenes, helping when no one notices, and reminding ourselves that our reward is in Heaven (Matthew 6:4).
We cannot find any greater example of humility than in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians that we should "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others" (Phil 2:3-4). I am grateful that Jesus didn't look to His own interests in the Garden of Gethsemane or on the cross. Instead, "He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:8). I am forever grateful.
Jesus gave up the splendor of Heaven. He gave up His place on the throne where His Father rules the universe. He gave up His power to protect Himself but willingly gave His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He loved us so much that He died for us. He endured so much humiliation, mockery, ridicule, suffering, and an agonizing death on a cross. Now that's humbling oneself to the point of death! What greater humility is there?
