Humility

What is humility? At http://www.freedictionary.com/, humility is defined as “the quality or condition of being humble; the state or quality of being humble; a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride, and a humble feeling.” Several explanations follow these definitions, as well as words which possibly coincide with the word humility. Other words that express the antithesis of humility are also listed as a means to compare and contrast. Sometimes it is helpful to understand the opposite meaning of a word, in order to fully grasp the true meaning. According to http://www.freedictionary.com/, the opposite of humility is “pride, vanity, superiority, arrogance, and conceit,” to name a few.

In the Christian life, humility is a trait that all of us should seek God about, in order to attain. To fully grasp the true meaning of humility, I would like to take a look at what the Bible has to say about pride. I believe that one of the worst things that we can do is maintain a prideful or arrogant attitude. The Bible warns against pride on numerous occasions, while it urges us to be humble. When Satan fell from heaven, it was pride that brought him down. When we look around at the ways of the world, how women and men seek out fame and recognition, allowing greed and dissension to poison their lives, pride and arrogance are a constant theme. If you have a disagreement with a loved one and neither one of you seek to reconcile, it is often pride that is getting in the way.

The Bible has a lot to say about the sin of pride. As I mentioned, Satan fell from heaven as a result of his great pride, and Proverbs 16:18 warns us that pride will bring us down too. It says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).” The fact that our culture and our world is full of pride, forgetting about God and His commands is no wonder that we are facing such troubled and devastating times. Proverbs 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” Celebrity’s are glamorized, as we watch the majority of them live immoral, often shallow lives, which ultimately lead to destruction. Children are emulating the behavior of celebrity’s, the elite, or the rich and famous, and I’m saddened to say that many of these women and men are not the kind of influences or role models Christian’s want for the next generation. The best role model we can give others is to live a life of humility that glorifies God and magnifies His name. We also have to step up to the plate and be the example, even if other Christian’s aren’t doing so. If we want to help others walk in humility, then we need to rid ourselves of pride.

Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” If we live prideful lives, then we will be disgraced. We cannot expect our relationship with God or others not to suffer if we are arrogant and prideful. We cannot expect to grow spiritually, if we are arrogant and prideful. We cannot expect blessing’s and favor to flow in our lives, if we are prideful and arrogant, and we cannot expect to do God’s will effectively if we are prideful and arrogant. When we choose to live prideful, we are actually working against ourselves, others, and the Lord. It is during this time that God opposes and resists us. 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.” Proverbs 3:34 also says that God “mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.” When believers make the choice to live lives of humility that honor God, there is great wisdom and grace that goes hand in hand with that choice. When we walk in humility, we grow in the Lord and live the life that He is calling us to live. God desires for us to clothe ourselves in humility, just like we get dressed each morning.

Like Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” If we choose to walk in pride, then we will be brought down. The choices and decisions that we make will bring us down and humble us if we are prideful, but God will honor us if we are humble. Like Proverbs 29:23 says, “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.” If our prideful choices don’t bring us low and humble us, then the Lord Himself will humble us. Daniel 4:37 says, “Those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Would it not be easier to let go of a sinful, prideful and arrogant attitude and choose to humble yourself, be in God’s will, and live how He is calling you to live, rather than allowing destruction into your life? God is not a bully. He loves you, and He is not going to force you to obey Him. He wants to open your eyes to the truth of how He desires for you to live, because He loves you. He wants you to have an abundant life in Him and fulfill His will and plan for your life. Living in sin by remaining in pride is not God’s best for you, and it is complete disobedience to Him.

If you have been living with pride and arrogance, then go before the Lord and ask Him for His forgiveness. Make the choice to repent of your sin and walk in humility. God will lead you, guide you, teach you, and help you to grow and mature in Him. Psalm 25:9 says, “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” It’s never too late to change the direction that you have been going in and fully commit to following Jesus Christ. He loves you so much!