1. Humility
HUMILITY
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. Proverbs 22:4
Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of
life. --George Arliss
Humility is the quality of not thinking that you are better than the others, having a low
rank or social position. This does not mean that all low-ranked people are humble but
rather the feeling in you that others are more important to you than yourself …..the act
of being considerate about others ….taking other people as more valuable in your life
regardless of gender, social status, economic ability, political background, educational
background and other hidden factors. Biblically speaking, personal humility carries the
concept of lowering oneself in such a manner as to attain a place of lowliness. Perhaps
the best way to understand humility is attempting to see ourselves through God’s eyes
rather than our own. The Bible says that humility leads to wisdom, with a focus on
submitting to God rather than building up one's own ego. The Bible warns against false
humility, which is really about making ‘your-self’ look impressive to other people but
has nothing to do with building a relationship with God. A humble person is one who
acts like a door mat and lets other people trample all over them, lets them into the
house as it were and allows them to trample all over them without saying a word in
response.
Humility calls for acceptance of authority especially from elders. Service or servant
hood occurs when authority has been granted and accepted. Note that leaders are
servants and therefore granted authority from elders or above. This acceptance requires
humility of character and this breed forth favor. God’s favor is only granted to us only
if we are humble. Jesus humbled himself (from birth to death) and no doubt, God’s
favor was, is and will forever be with Him. Many times we pray for God’s favor to be
upon us but we hesitantly refuse to be humble.
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2. Humility
The driving force in our lives should be trying to please God.
Secondly, we should take into consideration the needs and pleasures of others. With
our own pleasures subordinated, we will truly be the humble servants of God.
God’s will is only revealed to the humble in character. Once His will is revealed to us,
we must take another step of acceptance. Be submissive to that will and do it diligently
till you accomplish it with the guidance of His Spirit.
As seen earlier, God’s will is only performed by the humble in character and actions. All
God’s messengers right from the very beginning (the Old Testament to the New
Testament) were humble both in thoughts and deeds. Your deeds reveal what your
mind has been manufacturing. In Acts 20; 19, Paul clearly acknowledged that he
performed God’s work with humility. He was persecuted by the Jews but continued
doing His work because his humble reward is in Heaven. Take a short break and
reflect on Jesus Christ’s ministry while on Earth. Is there any instance He performed
God’s work in absence of humility and meekness?
God’s wisdom can only be realized in one’s life only if humility is present. Look at King
Solomon-the wisest man ever lived. He knew that before he accepted authority to be a
judge and ruler of God’s chosen people, he required wisdom to fairly perform his
duties. He had to be humble, gentle ad polite unto the Master and the elders. Strong
devotion and bodily discipline work hand in hand with humility. You cannot be
humble in the absence of discipline.
Strong devotion Humility Bodily Discipline
Humility also calls for purity of mind. Sinful minds breed forth pride which finally
leads to death (either physical or spiritual). A pure mind reveals the presence humility
of character which outwardly leads to bodily discipline.
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3. Humility
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….having reverence or admiration for
the Lord. This wisdom brings forth honor but humility precedes them all. In Proverbs
22; 4 ….true humility and the fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor and long life. No
wander King Solomon attained wealth too when he asked for wisdom. It was possible
because he was humble in Character and deeds. He realized that he needed to first be
humble and gentle if he wanted the God of Israel to bless him. Hezekiah is another
example ….2Chr. 32; 26-30. God works with people who are humble and He humbles
those He wants to work with. God never uses people who are proud. Saul had to be
humbled before being called Paul. Matthew the tax collector had to check his humility
scale before following Christ. King Saul had a humble beginning but later when pride
found its room in his heart, his reign ended and King David succeeded him. In Dan 5;
17-31, King Belshazzar had a similar dream to that of Saul life as King of Israel
especially in verse 20, when he became proud, he was brought down.
All humble servants of the Lord boost in Him. Therefore humility can be defined as the
act of boosting in the Lord and not thyself where as pride is to boost in thyself or
anything other than the Lord Almighty. The problem with pride is that it keeps people
focused upon themselves instead of on God; humility focuses upon God rather than
upon our own strengths.
In 1Kings 21; 29, when Ahab heard what the Lord was planning to do to him and the
people of Israel, he humbled himself by fasting and praying. This is a good expression
of bodily discipline. Deep in his heart, Ahab first boosted in the gods of the Amorites
but on hearing God’s plan(s) through Prophet Elijah, he began boosting in the Lord, the
only true God. He heard and knew what the Lord had done before. In effect he escaped
doom and death. Rehoboam had the same experience in 2Chr 12; 12
A little act of humility can cause great wonders in one’s life. Accepting God as our Lord
and savior requires humility. It required one man to humbly die for billions and more
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4. Humility
of proud and lifeless people just like a small source of light that illuminates in the
darkness.
The Christian body is the church and temple of the Holy Ghost. The trinity ought to live
in a well-balanced and organized and clean body. In 2Chr 7; 14-15 when King Solomon
had finished building the Lord’s temple, one of the requirements made by God
Almighty was humility. Humility leads to performance of other vital acts in a
Christian’s life---- praying, fasting, forgiveness and many more. Without exercise of
humility, a Christian will not be obedient to the Lord. Inadequate prayer is a symptom
that one is boosting in other things or people other than the Lord Almighty. Pride has
never left any person or kingdom reigning.
Even when life seems so tough, a humble Christian will boldly stand out and boost in
the Lord knowing that he/she shall overcome in due time. Tough situations will not
boost over that Christian. Practice of humility forces the Lord to turndown his anger.
Take time right now to look at some bible personalities whose expressions of humility
forced the Creator to turndown his anger. A humble worship of the Lord will never
make the Christian the same. To be sincere, all those that boost in what God has done
for them will surely agree with me that humility (the basic character quality) played the
biggest role in the fulfillment of God’s promises in their lives. During worship, some
people cry as expression of humility. Paul clearly experienced it in Acts 20; 19. Humility
can neither be forced nor imitated.
In 2Chr 33; 12 when Manasseh was distressed, he humbly cried out to God. To reach
Manasseh point of prayer requires guidance from the Holy Spirit. Prayer is
communication to the Almighty. Any communication requires a humble mechanism
from the source to the recipient and back to the sender---feedback. Stephen. R. Covey in
First Things First said “It takes humility to seek feedback. It takes wisdom to understand it,
analyze it, and appropriately act on it.” Humility of character led him into the holy
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5. Humility
sanctuary and prepared him (Manasseh) to pray. God is moved by the prayers of his
humble children. Be humble before, during and after prayers. For that is what pleases
God so much and makes Him react to your prayers. God is not moved by how long or
wordy your prayer is but rather by the degree of humility expressed from the bottom of
your heart. God looks at the heart where humility is manufactured from.
Paul constantly worked upon his humility level by praying to God. Humility is a life
long character to develop. One cannot attain it at once. Keep praying to God because
humility is expressed differently according to different situations. Different challenges
require different approaches. We can know everything but without humility of
character in our lives, we are like animals. God created us in his own image and
breathed into us His Spirit. That Spirit contained the many qualities for example
humility, meekness, gentleness and many more. This is the main difference between
humans and animals or any other living things.
God humbles us in different ways depending on the degree of our “stubbornness”. Paul
(formerly Saul) was humbled differently from Pharaoh of Egypt in the book of Exodus.
Many times when life seems so hard, God is trying to humble us for the journey(s)
ahead. The way God humbles you may be different from the way He may humble me.
All we need to have is a spirit that is willing to be taught---teachable spirit.
A humble person must be submissive to God Almighty and even to fellow brethren but
not to the devil. To submit means to accept authority, control or greater strength of
somebody. In a Christian perspective, to submit means to accept God’s authority no
matter what the situation is currently on your side. Satan tries so hard to make
Christians not yield to this authority. Only the humble overcome Satan’s traps. You,
therefore, cannot be humble if you do not have someone to account to.
On the final day, every one will be brought low before the Lord…Is 2; 11…..every one
will be humbled. Take a look at any court session, the suspects or guilty are usually so
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6. Humility
polite tending to being humble. God lives with those whose spirits are contrite and
humble. Repentance is an expression of humility. True worship means lowering
ourselves as we elevate God Almighty.
The proud will be humbled and the humble person will be honored was one of the
powerful teachings of Christ while on Earth….Luke 14; 11, Luke 18; 14 and Matt. 23; 12.
People want to be honored but ignore the role pride is playing in their lives. Take a
short break and reflect on your life and those moments when you wanted to be
honored. Were you driven by pride or humility?
In Matt. 18; 4 Jesus Christ teaches us that little children are naturally humble. This is
because they are very submissive and willing to be taught. Children are so
adventurous, inquisitive and willing to learn. Effective learning requires strong
discipline and devotion all of which require humility and ‘gentleness’. Christ’s life is the
fundamental and true illustration of humility. Therefore if we are to be humble, let us
follow Jesus Christ. Let us live like Him in all faculties of life, dear reader. Look at Phil.
2; 8 Jesus humbled Himself even at the last moment of His humanly life on earth.
Despite all the troubles and destruction around you, determine to be humble till you
reach your destiny. You will always wake up with joy on your lips.
The company that we involve ourselves with can in one way or another determine the
level of our humility. If you live amongst proud people, you are sowing seeds of pride
in your life and when harvest time comes, you will reap the pride. Be careful what
character of people you hang out with. Jesus’ disciples lived a humble life even after the
Master’s ascension because they used to be among the most humble man that has ever
lived both on earth and in heaven and most importantly, who still lives and reigns.
Take a moment and think about the type of friends that you associate with; are their
characters worth living around. Solomon suggested that it is better to live humbly with
the poor than to share plunder with the proud….Prov.16; 19. The choice is yours! Proud
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7. Humility
people are helpless and it is the main reason why they want to be recognized through
pride.
We are liked and loved by the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a
gentile, humble and quiet Spirit. Canal spirits want to be recognized through pride and
arrogance. Ephesians 4; 2 tells us to be humble and gentle. It is said as gentle as a sheep.
Jesus is called the Lamb of God because of this evident character factor. Humble people
are characterized by having self-control through the presence of the Holy Spirit in their
lives. This makes them capable and able….qualified to perform God’s pre-ordained
duties here on Earth. Humility is the vital quality that God searches for in an individual
before doing His will.
One of the major difference between a humble person and a proud one is that a humble
person is joyful---internal happiness which lasts long or for a life time where as a proud
person seems to be happy and this lasts for a very short time. Do you want to be happy
because things are happening positively on your side or joyful because of your good
character? The choice is yours dear. Even if the going gets tougher, you still remain
joyful because of your humble deeds and thoughts. This is what God desires in all His
living creatures. There is a reward for everything we do, whether, seen or unseen. God
uncovers every secret of man.
The humble and lowly will possess the earth. They will inherit the whole earth. God
designed the earth to be occupied by His loved one, those who are faithful to Him. The
Lord crowns the humble with salvation too. Salvation is never attained by the proud
because they believe in self-righteousness. The moment one accepts the Lord as his or
her personal Savior, he or she reveals to God that he or she is nothing but willing to be
somebody….conqueror. Humility prepares the Christian to follow all the Master’s
teachings and commands. Everything God commands us to do must be done out of
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8. Humility
humility and gentleness. Perfect rest of the soul and body involves the presence of
humility and meekness in that soul and body.
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