Humility (part 2)

If we want to walk in humility, then it’s good for us to understand what it means to live with pride. One definition of pride from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; conceit.” We can see pride on TV reality shows, in the lives of celebrity’s, in our country, in our city, even in our own families or personal lives. Pride is a sin, and it was pride that brought Satan down, as well as a third of the angels in heaven. God takes the sin of pride seriously and as Christian’s we should do the same.

The Bible warns against the sin of pride on numerous occasions. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” If we live with pride, the Word of God assures us that we will be disgraced and we will fall. However, if we remain humble, we will receive wisdom. When we received wisdom that comes from living a righteous life for Christ, then we are better able to discern the thing’s of God and walk in His will for us. It should be the desire of our heart to live our lives to please Him. A prideful person often does not set his or her heart on the things of God. Often times, an arrogant man or woman will forget about God completely. Proverbs 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” God desires for us to be set apart from the ways of the world. We need to choose to consider God’s will and His desires and walk in humility.

1 Peter 5:5 says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” When we choose pride and arrogance over humility, we are actually working against the Lord. God opposes or resists us, when we are proud. Proverbs 3:34 says that God mocks those who are proud. “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34).” The key word that we can find in either of these verses for the woman or man who chooses humility is “grace.” God gives grace to the humble. What does it mean to have God’s grace? It means that we receive unmerited favor from Him. We don’t deserve His grace, and we could never earn His grace, but when we choose to be humble in our lives, then God will pour out His gift of grace to us even more so in our lives. When we choose humility, instead of pride, the Lord leads us and guides us in a special way, and we are able to fulfill the call that He has placed on our lives. Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” It is never too late for us to humble ourselves before the Lord and walk in humility.

Being humble means that we are selfless, we put away our own will to follow God’s will, we remove vanity, arrogance and conceit from our heart, and we consider the needs of others. The Bible instructs us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3).” Just as 1 Peter 5:5 instructs us, “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,” Colossians 3:12 tells us, “as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” We have to clothe ourselves with humility, which means that we have to put it on every day. Just as we wake up and get dressed for the day, we need to dress ourselves with the garment of humility. We are imperfect human beings, with a nature that is bent towards sin, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27), and He can help us to live lives of humility.

How can we humble ourselves? The best example of humility was, is and always will be Jesus Christ. “Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8)!” If we want to humble ourselves, then we should imitate the life of Christ. We need to be gentle and humble in heart, and we need to be obedient to God. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” When we are humble, God honors us, and we are able to find peace and rest for our souls, no matter what is going on around us. One example that Jesus gave to us of humility is found in Matthew 18:4. Jesus said, “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:4).” We should allow God to renew our minds, as we guard our hearts against the things of this world. We should attempt to return to innocence that is childlike, and we should humble ourselves like children do. Don’t allow your past, your job, your friends, your family, the world, or whatever speaks against humility, purity, God or His Kingdom to drag you down. Remember that God is faithful and He has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11). He desires to work things out for your good (Romans 8:28). Fix your eyes on Jesus, and dwell on the good things of God. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).”

We can exercise humility in our lives on a daily basis. When we choose to put the needs of someone else before our own needs, then we exercise humility. When we forgive someone who has hurt us, instead of holding a grudge, then we exercise humility. When we fast and pray for God’s will in our lives, then we exercise humility. When we love others who are living in sin and shine the light of Christ, rather than passing judgment and being harsh, then we exercise humility. When we admit to someone that we have hurt them and apologize for our behavior, then we exercise humility. Every day we have the opportunity to live a life that is humble and glorifies God, and every day we have a chance to start over with a clean slate, if we have allowed pride to rear its ugly head in our lives. “Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).”