Humility

Humility

Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. . . . Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.

Philippians 2:3, 5-8

Throughout the Bible, we’re reminded that “the Lord supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust” (Psalm 147:6). That same thought appears in Psalm 18:27—“You rescue those who are humble, but you humiliate the proud.” Clearly, God hates pride and values humility.

If we want to improve our sewing, cooking, decorating, or parenting skills, thousands of books are available to help us. But if we want to learn how to be humble, where do we go? I’ve never run across a book titled Humility 101 in my local bookstore.

The Bible tells us that the place to go—the person to look at—is Jesus. There’s no better role model for any of us. In Philippians 2, we discover that humility begins with an attitude—one that looks up at God and up at other people. When we look at our holy, powerful God, there’s only one direction to look, and that’s up! Our biggest problem is that we don’t spend enough time looking at him. And when we look at other people, we sometimes look down, but that’s not the right direction.

When the attitude of humility is present in our hearts, the actions of humility seem to follow. Instead of demanding, we begin serving. Instead of clinging to our rights, we begin thinking about others. Even though Jesus was God, he didn’t demand and cling to his rights. Instead, he took the humble position of a slave, to the point of death on a cross—for us. By looking at Jesus’ attitude and actions, we find the only perfect example of humility.

Father,

Each day we face many opportunities to practice humility, but it doesn’t come naturally to us. Please help us look to your example and your strength and make the choice to serve others. In Christ’s name, amen.