As a Christian, I tend to overlook many small, but extremely important points made in the Bible. We can describe God as all-powerful, loving, merciful, awesome—the list goes on for eternity. But do you know that our God is also humble? The Lord of lords, the Great I Am, the God that rules over all of time, is a humble leader. What does it mean to obtain this kind of incredible humility and apply it to our lives today?
The passage from Philippians 2:1-11 explores this topic beautifully. Verse three says this, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” The Word speaks directly to the hearts of all of us when we read the phrase “selfish ambition.” No matter how in tune you are with the spirit, we all have moments when we want to take the reins of our life from the hands of God and steer our words or actions in a way that credits ourselves. But this is no way to obtain humility. Instead, we must consider others better than ourselves, not to mistake that with worshipping others or believing they are superior, but that Christian love sees others as worthy of preferential treatment. Really, we are all equally human, equally sinners, and all equally need forgiveness day after day, but because of the example Jesus gave while on earth, Christians are called to SERVE as he did. But how does this look in our every day lives?
We are called to speak truthfully, and honestly. Never hide the talents and gifts God gave you, but don’t boast about them as if they are solely yours. Use your talents to glorify Him, and remember that true humility is in the heart. As Christians who strive to show the world the love of God, we try our best to make our actions humble. But it's the heart behind those actions that God sees. It’s no secret that having a loving heart, even when we are hurting, is a challenge. But the beauty of it is that we don’t have to face this challenge alone.
In order to understand what it really means to be humble, we have to look at the first verse of Philippians chapter two: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete, by being like-minded having the same love, being one with spirit and purpose.” We must have relationship with God in order to develop this divine humility. How wonderful is it that we don’t have to keep stumbling over our own feet, trying to do our best on our own, and that we have a God that loves us and longs for relationship with us. Thank you for reading this article, I hope it helped you in your spiritual journey, God bless.
