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Humility
Read: Philippians 2:1-11
How would you define humility? What does it mean to be humble? Does humility have positive or negative connotations in your mind? Stop for a moment and write down your definition.
Dictionary.com defines humility as “the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.” Synonyms to humility are lowliness, meekness, submissiveness; whereas the opposite of humility is pride.
In Philippians 2 Paul states that you should “in humility consider others better than yourself”. But what does this mean? Paul is not telling us not to have a negative view of ourselves or to see everyone as better than us. Instead, he is telling us to have a healthy self-esteem and to live to serve others unselfishly, considering their needs and interests before our own. To think of others first is not natural to our human nature. It’s only by the power of the Holy Spirit in us that allows us to unselfishly serve others before ourselves.
Humility describes a spirit of knowing who you are in relation to God. It’s having an accurate perception of yourself- that you are a child of God, created in His image, created to do good works to bring Him the glory. This life isn’t about us. It’s about bringing Christ the glory. All of our gifts, abilities and blessings come from Him. We have nothing to boast about of our own accord. It’s from this perspective that true humility is born. When you humble yourself, it allows God’s glory and work to shine through you.
Humility isn’t a weak attribute, but one that is characterized by great strength. It defined the work and character of Christ as he humbled himself and became obedient even to death on the cross. Humility is a strong theme throughout both the Old and New Testaments. It is when people are humble that conflict is able to be resolved, the needs and worth of all God’s people are recognized, relationships are strengthened, and people are able to live in harmony and peace with one another. When everyone watches out for themselves, only one person is looking out for you. When everyone puts others before themselves and serves each other, you are looked out for by many people.
God exalts those who humble themselves. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 23:12). “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10). “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5). “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Ps 25:9). The Lord sustains the humble (Ps 147:6), gives grace to the humble (Prov 3:34), esteems the humble (Is 66:2) and crowns the humble with salvation (Ps 149:4). “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life” (Prov 22:4). Isaiah says on the day of the Lord, the proud and the arrogant will be humbled and the Lord alone will be exalted (Is 2:11-12). “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (I Peter 5:5-6).
Reflect: Read Philippians 2:1-11 again and reflect on the following questions:
- Look at your definition of humility. Has your definition changed at all after reading the above passages? How can you take on a more humble attitude?
- In what ways do you think God exalts those who humble themselves?
- If we were all a little more humble, how do you think that would affect our community? Our relationships? Our lives?
Remember: Weekly memory verses
“Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:2-4, NIV)
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