“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord.” James 4.10 NKJV
“Humility is neither overestimating nor underestimating yourself.”
My thoughts today are about “pride and humility.”
Why do people struggle with humility? Since we all do have so much about which to be humble, why would we have such a hard time being genuinely humble? People seem to prefer projecting pride and self-importance, but everyone has plenty about which to be genuinely humble, more than any of us may wish to recognize.
Humility does not appear to be one of the top ten most desired, or admired, personal attributes. Why do people think poorly of humility? Too many consider humility akin to weakness and inadequacy, possibly because it exposes where you are less than you wish you were.
Does God expect you to belittle yourself in order to appear humble? I wouldn’t think so. He is justifiably proud of who He made you to be and the gifts He placed in you. “I tell everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he should think. Instead, think sensibly as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.” Romans 12:3. A paraphrase of that verse says, “Be honest in your estimate of yourself.” Neither overestimate nor underestimate yourself.
God does not expect you to pretend to appear something less than you are in order to seem humble, nor to pretend to be something more than you actually are, to impress others. He wants you to be realistic about your strengths, as well as your needs.
Ignoring either can have consequences. Ignore your strengths and you will never do or be your best, and will not find the success of which you are capable. Ignore your weaknesses and you will not look to God for His anointing and empowerment, nor appreciate supporting relationships and the contributions that others have made toward your successes.
Consider this word of caution: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time.” 1 Peter 5:5-6. Peter well remembered the awkward lesson of the Upper Room. John 13:5-11.
You do not want God to “resist” you, or be apart from your efforts, because of pride. You need, and want, the grace God gives to the humble. When you are honest with God, yourself, and others, you are unapologetic and confident about your strength, while unafraid to admit your inabilities; that’s real humility.
My prayer for you today is: be at ease with your God-given competence, and confident in Him.