Is it possible to be both humble and great at the same time? The answer is “yes” and today we’ll see how. Today’s verse is from James 4:10 which says:
“Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.”
James wrote these words around 20-30 years after Jesus ascended back to heaven and, by this time, he was a legend in the early church. He was one of Jesus’ actual brothers who didn’t believe in Him at first but later became one of His biggest fans. His audience for this letter was Jewish Christians (which he refers to as “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations”). These Jewish Christians, including James, were heavily persecuted and, in many cases, killed for being followers of Jesus. His letter is intended to help them learn how to work together in community in order to fulfill the teaching of Jesus and, in part, how to survive.
According to this verse, when we humble ourselves, God will lift us up. So what exactly is humility and how do we achieve it?
Dictionary.com defines humility as “modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance” but I think that is a terrible definition. Lowering our opinion of ourselves is not the answer because the verse says He wants us to be lifted up. I think a better explanation, or at least the one that makes the most sense to me, is that humility comes from understanding 1) God’s importance, 2) the importance that God places on all of His children & His creation and 3) our place in His plan.
So one of the ways, maybe the primary way, that we can achieve humility is to understand these points and to develop one simple habit and that is the practice of gratitude. For example, see if the following statements make you feel more humble:
- I can turn a handle and get clean water any time I want to
- Even if my parents are dysfunctional, they gave me life
- I’m grateful for all of my mistakes and the lessons they’ve taught me
- Even though it is exhausting and frustrating at times, I’m grateful for the perspective gained from raising children
- I’m grateful for the lows in life because they help me appreciate the highs
Practicing gratitude counteracts pride and arrogance which helps us keep a more humble perspective. Maybe it is just that simple then and gratitude really is the way to humility.
Questions:
- Do you agree that being humble isn’t the same things as lowering our opinion of ourselves?
- Today’s verse says that God will lift us up when we humble ourselves. What are some of the ways God can lift us up?
- Do you agree that practicing gratitude is the way, or at least a major way, to become more humble?
- What are some things we can do to more regularly practice gratitude?
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