If you want to survive in this world (so we are told), you have to stick up for yourself—and even bully other people if needed in order to get your own way. There is no question that humility is out of style in our culture, and it is often even frowned upon. For example, one of the definitions for humility in the Urban Dictionary is (I assume this is tongue-in-cheek): “To try to live a life of integrity, only to have it stolen from you in the end. And that, by someone who doesn’t have integrity.”
Living in a culture that exalts pride is nothing new. Before Christianity invaded the Roman Empire, humility was actually hated. In fact, the Greek language didn’t even have a word for humility that included the idea of serving others. Jesus broke that mold when He humbly knelt before His disciples and washed their feet. “So when He had washed their feet … He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you’ ” (John 13:12–15).
We may think that being humble brings misery, but it actually makes your life much better. I’ll share some of the reasons why in a minute, but first we need to think about the meaning of humility. I think that Pastor Warren Wiersbe gives us the clearest definition: “Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves. It is simply not thinking of ourselves at all!”
Pride, on the other hand, is having an exaggerated opinion of yourself so that you look down on others and think them undeserving of your time and efforts. Prejudice and bigotry are good examples of this.
One of the main problems with pride is that it can show up when we least expect it. I found an article in Forbes [See: https://goo.gl/uaKjUA] that had some helpful ways we can detect prideful attitudes. “Humble people… actively listen to others before summarizing the conversation. Moreover, humble people don’t try to dominate a conversation or talk over people…. They start sentences with ‘You’ Rather Than ‘I’…. Humble people brag about others, while the prideful people brag about themselves.”
Pride can sneak up on any of us when we least expect it, largely because even good things can make us proud. When we go out of our way to help someone else, it’s easy to look for an opportunity to subtly let other people know about it. We can even be proud of how humble we think we are!
Now that we have a brief understanding of humility and pride, let’s think about how humility can make our lives a lot better. Here are some obvious reasons: Humble people are eager to learn more; they are willing to ask for help; their relationships are healthier; and they are more fun to be around (no one wants to be around someone who regularly talks about themselves).
There is, however, an even bigger reason to be humble. Peter and James both tell us the same thing: “…God is opposed to the proud …” (James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5). The word “opposed” literally means “to set an army in array against, to arrange in battle order.” In other words, God battles against prideful people. Of all the enemies we could possibly have, the most powerful would be the Almighty, Eternal Creator. That is not an enemy we want to make.
Why does God hate pride so much? Our pride steals the glory of the goodness and greatness that belong only to God. The One who made everything said, “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another….” (Isaiah 42:8). “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable [can’t be measured]” (Isaiah 40:28).
Whenever we experience something good, it comes from God (see James 1:7). It is our pride that prompts us to take credit for things that God has done. “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
Does your life seem empty and pointless? Humbly submitting to the One who made you and died for you is the only way for life to make sense. We were made by God, and we were made for Him.
We know this is true because those who go to heaven “… will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created’” (Revelation 4:10–11).
Just think: “Thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’ ” (Isaiah 57:15).
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