As we were reading the verses this week, it struck me that for many years I was confused by and perhaps potentially even offended by true humility.

True humility is the ability to totally submit to God Word and will wholy without giving our human intellect or natural appetites and desires have a vote.    This requires us to act with great boldness and confidence in God and His Word, with tenacity to His precepts, and with what can be mistaken as a “stubborn” or “know it all attitude”.

 

James 4:4-6 Amplified Bible (AMP) “4 You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose [a]that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy? 6 But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].”

1 Peter 5:5 Amplified Bible (AMP) “5 Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for God is opposed to the proud [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], but He gives grace to the humble.”

Pride can be readily spoted in these attributes:    Self-centredness, false humility, entitlement, thinking more of self than others, putting on a false face to appear better than we are in front of others, blaming others for our shortfalls/not accepting responsiblity for weaknesses, self-reliance, independence, the inability to cast our cares and worries and stresses on God (the feeling that we are the source of our salvation or the solution to situations instead of casting our cares and needs on God), inability to delegate for fear others won’t do it will well enough, desire for the praise and recognition of others, any kind of shift in our behaviours between our private (secret) life and our public face, thought like “If only I would…. then it would all be fine”.

Humility recognizes that without God’s help, we are absolutely hopeless and helpless to live in a way that pleases Him, BUT also recognizes that we can do ALL things in Christ.

Humility