What Does it Mean to be Humble?

This post continues our faith-based word study with “humility”.

What does it mean to be humble? If you were to look up the word in a secular dictionary you’d see definitions like lowliness, timidity, lacking in position, passiveness and not being worth much. It’s clear the secular world we live in prizes aggressiveness, assertiveness, self-importance, power, position and pride in ones-self and one’s accomplishments.

But, as Christians, we are not to be of this world, but citizens of God’s kingdom here on earth. For us, the word humility has a much different meaning.

To be humble in kingdom terms is to gratefully recognize our dependence on the Lord. Christian humility is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear… but an indication that we know where our true strength lies… in the Lord and not from within ourselves.

Sometimes it helps to look at a word’s opposite to discern its true meaning. Pride is most often thought of as the polar opposite of humility. “Mere Christianity” author C.S. Lewis called pride “the great sin.” In it Lewis wrote:

“According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began."

If this sounds like exaggeration, make no mistake about it… pride is the great sin. It is the devil’s most effective and destructive tool that causes us to have a distorted view of who God is. Pride will not allow us to give God the reverence and respect that is due to Him. God is infinitely superior to us. He is absolutely perfect and we are not. Consider this from the book of Job:

Job 25:4–6
“4How can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure? 5God is more glorious than the moon; He shines brighter than the stars. 6In comparison, people are maggots; we mortals are mere worms.”

God has supreme authority over us. Our relationship with Him (or lack of) will determines our eternal future. As a result, the prideful will eventually suffer the consequences of their pride. Consider these verses:

Proverbs 16:5
“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 16:18
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Galatians 6:3
“For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

In faith terms, humility is an attitude of deference toward God in submission to His grace. It means putting God ahead of our own selfish interests. Jesus is our best example of humility. During His earthly ministry, He always acknowledged that His strength came because of His dependence on His Father… He said:

John 5:30
“By myself I can do nothing… for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”
The Lord will also strengthen us as we humble ourselves before Him. James wrote:

James 4:6
“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”

By humility we acknowledge that God created us for his purposes and not for our self-glorification. So then, humility is not just the absence of pride, but a heartfelt understanding of, as they say in recovery circles, “Big God… Little Me.”

I’ve been writing about these types of things for years. In the Power of Brokenness -The Language of Healing I go deeper into this with twelve words that can change your life. If you are interested you can see more here.