Am I Humble Or Proud?

Humility. The Christian life could be summarized into this one virtue, because it is the way we come into God’s family at salvation. Jesus put it this way in Luke –

“‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).

I had a professor who used to say that we are a lot like God’s camera men: we are never to be in the picture.

Thus, to be a prideful Christian is an oxymoron. Richard Baxter, that English Puritan of the 17^th century, wrote in The Reformed Pastor, “It is a contradiction in terms, to be a Christian, and not humble.”

What then is humility? One simple answer comes from a book entitled Humility: The Forgotten Virtue by Wayne Mack, who is a former professor of mine:

“Humility, then, consists in an attitude wherein we receive our own insignificance and unworthinesss before God and attribute to Him the supreme honor, praise, prerogatives, rights, privileges, worship, devotion, authority, submission, and obedience that He alone deserved. … It means having a servant’s mind-set and always putting self last.” (pg. 26)

In the Bible, we see countless examples of saints expressing this kind of godly humility that God longs for in all of us.

• Abraham referred to himself as “dust and ashes” when he approached God in prayer asking for mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18).

• Jacob realized his unworthiness to be an object of God’s faithfulness in providing for him and his forefathers (Genesis 32).

• When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, Moses questioned himself as worthy of being God’s chosen to lead the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity; Moses saw his physical inabilities (Exodus 3).

• When Gideon was called to lead Israel against Midian, he felt his smallness and thought he was the last one in the land God wanted to lead His army (Judges 6).

• John the Baptist felt quite uncomfortable with being asked to baptize Jesus; he said he was unworthy to even untie Jesus’ sandals (John 1).

• When Peter was initially called to leave his fishing vocation to follow Christ, he was hesitant because of his sin (Luke 5).

And how does one determine if he is like Gideon, Moses, or John the Baptist. You could ask yourself any or all of the following 4 questions.

1. Who draws the moral boundaries in your life? The proud determines their own “right and wrong.” The humble use God’s Word as their standard.

2. What is your initial reaction when you are given a gift? The proud enjoys being in the center of honor. The humble is shocked that anyone would give them anything.

3. Where is your sufficiency? The proud thinks their own strength and smarts will be enough for a fulfilled life. The humble doesn’t trust themselves is not ultimately dependent on any other but God.

4. Do you feel God or society owes you something? The proud feels entitled. The humble knows nothing is owed them … ever.