What is humility?
It’s the quality of not thinking too highly of yourself, of being humble. Jesus is a great example of humility. Philippians (2:8, NASB) says, “…He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Jesus never bragged about himself or his accomplishments even though he was a perfect man who never sinned! Listen to his humble words in the book of John (8:50, Good News Translation): “I am not seeking honor for myself,” and (John 8:54, Good News Translation)
"If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worth nothing.”
Maybe we have exceptional ability in sports, drama, or certain subjects in school. Instead of focusing on our talents with pride, let’s lift others up and help their talents grow. We can help others succeed by mentoring them – which means being an active, good example, giving support and advice to help someone make progress. We can share our talents and build each other up! Encourage someone on your team who is struggling, or tutor someone who may not understand something in class as well as you do.
The Bible is full of good advice, warning us against pride – the opposite of humility. The Apostle Paul in Romans says (12:3, NLT): “…Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves,…” David says in Proverbs (11:2, New Living Translation) “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom,” and (Proverbs 16:18, Good News Translation) “Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.”
James, the half-brother of Jesus, (4:6, Berean Study Bible) sums up how God feels about prideful behavior: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
In the book of Matthew (23:12, Contemporary English Version), Jesus says, “If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.”
This is not to say we should hang our heads, think we are worthless or put ourselves down. We just shouldn’t think of ourselves as more important than we are. Instead, we should be humble, focusing on respecting God, His son Jesus, and treating others as we would want to be treated.
So, what is humility? It’s not thinking too highly of ourselves. Let’s remember what Micah (6:8, Christian Standard Bible) says about how we should act, especially when it comes to the Creator of the universe: “Mankind, He has told each of you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
This video is from Christian Questions Podcast. For more information please go to https://christianquestions.com
