How will we know if we have true humility? How can we tell whether or not we are doing this right? We can tell a lot if we are heading in the right direction by looking at the results. If we are doing this right, having humility produces contentment, teachability, and godliness in us.
CONTENTMENT
Having humility means we won’t feel the need to draw attention to ourselves. It cancels our pride. It is okay with us if we don’t get noticed or acknowledged. We won’t feel the need to elevate ourselves, to let others know what we can do, and how well we can do what we can do. The more humble we are, the less we feel the need to prove ourselves.
We won’t feel the need to be angry, and win every argument. We won’t feel the need to revenge or retaliate, in order to make ourselves feel normal again. We can defuse arguments. When someone steps on our toes, we can let it go, walk away, and have peace. When we are treated unfairly, we won’t be bitter. We can actually have more success getting our point across when we are not being aggressive, even combative. We can have more influence when we are humble.
TEACHABILITY
When we have humility, we won’t be stubborn. When someone shows us a criticism, we won’t stay mad. Receiving a correction no longer has to destroy us emotionally, and ruin our day, or days. When we know how to eat humble pie, we are ready to have someone teach us. We go further than “I am sorry,” to say “Please help me do better.” We appreciate someone for showing us where we went wrong, and we can feel thankful someone just loved us.
GODLINESS
Having humility for Christians begins with being secure with who we are in the Lord. Because we are secure with who we are in the Lord, we are now prepared to put others first. We won’t have to worry about ourselves any longer, and it frees us to now put others first. The picture of humility in the Bible is one of a strong person who loves another. We can truly look out for the good of others and choose to build others up. In this way, we put away personal rivalry, and begin to act like we are on the same team. In this way, we are finally able to represent Christ well. I think this is how it works.
I wish I could tell you having humility solves all the problems in our world. I cannot. It does not always mean our enemies will stop and say, “Hello.” It does not always mean they will stop fighting with us. Some may even escalate their hostility towards us. Having humility does not guarantee we gain back a friend. God does not promise us those things. But I have good news. Each time we choose to have humility, our God is pleased. We can have joy and contentment we just made our heavenly Father smile. Even though we failed to “win” back a friend, we are winners in God’s eyes.
Matthew 23:12 "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
So, this is a matter of faith. Choosing whether or not to have humility depends on whether or not we believe there is a heavenly Father who exalts us for having humility. If we believe, we will choose to have humility. If not, having humility is just having something to feel good about ourselves. Sometimes, we may not even get to choose. Not always, but if we won’t choose to humble ourselves, God will humble us himself, as he did with Nebuchadnezzar.
Learning how to have humility begins by catching ourselves in our moments of pride, confessing, and praying to our God so we can begin to have some success. We ask God to point out to us our pockets of pride. We build up our confidence in who we are in the Lord daily, so we won’t worry about who we are anymore, and start to truly care for others. Who wants to learn together with me how to be content, teachable, and godly?