Humility for Christians

The most difficult character trait for most Christians is humility. It's no wonder since we live in a world obsessed with individual rights. However, while we are indeed entitled to our rights we are to yield to the rights of others more often than our own. For the unbeliever this sounds absurd. There is more self-centeredness in our society than ever before so now more than ever we should endeavor to resist the spirit of pride and embrace the spirit of humility.

The sovereign Lord of the universe emptied Himself, took on a body of flesh and came as a servant to the very ones He created. He humbled Himself even unto death for our sakes. As followers of Christ we are to imitate Him and strive to develop this same mind set.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Phil.2:5-8)

Expressing humility doesn't mean that we are to let people walk all over us or that we are to tolerate wrong behavior or injustice. Christ demonstrated this when He ran the money changers out of the temple. The corrupt system was using the house of God as a house of merchandise. They were exploiting people by disqualifying the sacrifices they brought, claiming they were defective in order to sell them a better one. Moreover, when exchanging currency for temple coins they consistently cheated the people.

What Jesus expressed is referred to as righteous indignation which is anger against wrong doing. The Bible says we are to get angry but not sin. We are not to let anger overcome us. Anger is an emotional response which usually stems from pride where righteous indignation is a clear-headed response to something we know is wrong. Humility is the opposite of pride which deceives us into believing we are somehow better, smarter or entitled to more than someone else.

Judging others is a serious form of pride. Jesus said we shouldn't judge lest we be judged. This kind of judgment has to do with condemnation and not discernment. It is natural to disapprove of the actions of someone we believe to be out of line but when our thoughts condemn them it's an expression of pride and not humility.

"Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand." (Rom.14:4)

We must remember when we begin to think more highly of ourselves than we ought that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. To do otherwise is to put ourselves in the same category with the Pharisee who prayed, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector." (Lk.18:11)

While some of us may be living a more Godly life than others, we must never compare our Christian walk with that of another. Paul said that we should leave that kind of judgment to the Lord. Only God knows the thoughts and intent of the heart. Paul spoke a lot about humility and if anyone knows the importance of humility it's Paul. He was a devout Pharisee until the Lord humbled him on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9)

Jesus also spoke a lot about humility which enforces its importance in the life of a Christian. He said we should never assume the place of honor lest we suffer the embarrassment of being asked to move. He also said we are not to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves the way the Pharisees did who wore long rabbinical robes and craved the admiration of men.

According to Peter we are to be subject to one another. In other words we should yield to each other's needs before our own. "Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.' Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." (1Pet.5:5-6)

Imagine what the world would be like if everyone had such a humble spirit. Humility such as this will be prevalent in the Kingdom of God but our flesh fights against the things of the Spirit. Oftentimes we don't even realize it when we fail to show humility because humility is alien to our fallen nature.

Rushing ahead of someone is one example of failing to express humility as if we somehow deserve to be first. Another example is when we deliberately neglect a minor responsibility hoping someone else will do it as if it is beneath us. Our attitude in humbling ourselves is not to be seen or acknowledged by people but by God. He is pleased when we humble ourselves because in doing so we are imitating Him.

On the other hand, when we adopt an attitude of pious self-worth and believe for whatever reason that what we do is more important than others we have lifted ourselves above them. This is pride. Jesus said that we are to serve with a spirit of humility because no matter what we do or how much we do, it is our duty to Him.

"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'" (Lk.17:10)

He paid the ransom for our souls and we could never repay this debt. Any and all service to Him is our duty. Nevertheless, we who love Him don't serve out of obligation but out of love and gratitude. It's not that Jesus necessarily has this attitude, it's just a simple matter of truth.

If people would simply abandon self-centeredness and adopt a spirit of humility God would bless our land. Instead we are encouraged by the world to center on self. Bookstores are filled with books to boost our self-esteem, self-awareness, self-healing, self-confidence, self-assurance and on and on it goes.

Some people have a more difficult time with humility than others. Perhaps they are very good at what they do or maybe they are particularly gifted and have little tolerance for ignorance. Those who find it hard to humble themselves should try harder to achieve humility, otherwise God will humble them. "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Matt.23:12)

Humility, like any other Christian character trait, can be developed through practice. When we apply it to our daily lives we get better at it as we begin to abstain from bragging or glory-grabbing as God trains us through trials to be all that He wants us to be. Each time we realize that we are not expressing a spirit of humility and make an effort to correct it, we learn and grow. Then with patient perseverance we will develop a humble spirit approved by God.

When we are trying to focus and someone interrupts us, we usually respond with irritation and impatience. When we do this we are expressing loud and clear that what we are doing is much more important than the one who interrupted us. We need to learn to humble ourselves and realize that God creates all circumstances and everything is under His control, even our time.

The needs of others should be a high priority in the life of a Christian. We must not become caught up in our own work and lose sight of the main objective. Our circumstances do not depend on us or anything we do but rather, everything we do should center on our love for others.

If this becomes a struggle we need only to remember how Jesus, the Lord of glory, got on His knees and washed the feet of the disciples. This was an act of love and humble obedience to the Father.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." (Jn.13:16-17)

Therefore, as believers of the Bible we should put forth every effort to develop a humble spirit and pull up any seeds of prideful arrogance that may have taken root.

In conclusion, humility is a very important virtue which all Christians should practice. Paul taught over and over that as followers of Christ we should conduct our lives in all humility. More importantly, the Lord of all the earth humbled Himself in complete obedience to the Father so we should humble ourselves in complete obedience to Christ.

Interesting Reading:

Signs of the End Times
Armageddon
The Only Way to God