Humility

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient…

(Philippians 2:8, NKJV)

In most societies, the word ‘humility’ is understood as a weakness and rarely do we hear it a virtue.  Talking of life stories, people will speak of being raised from a humble background suggesting that they were not as affluent as others and that they lacked social status and privileges.  The discussion when this comes up usually is to contrast the background of the speaker and their current status of success and wealth, despite the beginning point.  From the believers’ perspective, humility is seen as opposite of pride, being explained as obedience and respect to others.  It suggests a level of modesty where we do not just fight for ourselves but also give consideration to others.  Apart from only referring to others, humility also means modesty in relation to oneself.  It is a posture of accepting that we have weaknesses and limitations, that we are not all independent but recognize a need to receive help from others and more so from a powerful authority, God.  This from a spiritual perspective is a submission to God who is all knowing and all mighty to carry us through.  The acknowledgement by an individual that they need help and are willing to receive it, is the mark of true humility.  This should not be considered as self-disapproval but an acknowledgement of dependence on a higher power, it should be seen as a logically balanced view of oneself.

Our reference verse makes reference to Jesus who was God and yet He took the human body, choosing to be obedient to God the Father.  His level of obedience is to the point of death on the cross.  It is in accepting to take on the place of obedience that Jesus fulfilled the purpose for His human life – the purpose of saving the human race.  Salvation was not going to be possible if Jesus had not accepted to die on the cross, He submitted to the process humbly for the purpose that was before Him.  This is the highest level of humility, Jesus knew He was God and yet He chose to humble Himself (Philippians 2:5).  From human thinking, one would be tempted to think that Jesus did not have to go through this level of humility as He was God, but in His agreeing to go through the painful process, He demonstrated to us the power of humility.  He makes humility a position of strength and not one of weakness as we are tempted to understand it.

As believers who know our place in Christ, we are called to embrace compassion, kindness, humility and patience (Colossians 3:12-13).  In these attributes that we need to demonstrate, humility is highlighted as important in helping us live peaceably with others, more so, reflect the saving power of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Living in humility, we bring glory and honour to our God and to our neighbours, we communicate that we value them.  Beloved, while humility might not be the language of the world, it is what God expects of us.  We read that when we humble ourselves before God, He exalts us in His own time (1 Peter 5:6).  We also know that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).  Elsewhere, we are admonished against being prideful as we are reminded that all who exalt themselves will be humbled while those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11).  Brethren, may we be found on the side of God, where we are not ashamed to be humble but embrace humility as an important attribute of how others experience us.

Thoughts:

What thoughts does the word ‘humility’ bring to you?

In which areas do you struggle to be humble?

How have others experienced your life in  humility?