The Humblest Person on Earth

Good morning.

What does it mean to be humble? Is it to have the attitude: ‘I’m so humble, I’m the humblest person on earth’ (smile)? Is it to crawl in the dust with feelings of ‘I’m not worthy to be seen’ or to hide in the shadows so nobody could see I’ve accomplished this great thing?

We read in Isaiah 66:2: “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word,” and in James 4:6: “Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”

It seems that to God humility is a criterion. According to Isaiah 66:2 above it is important that man has a fear for the Lord and a contrite or repentant attitude. To the Lord this is equal to humility.

So in reality what would humility be? How did Jesus portray humility? Jesus was bold and outspoken and did everything with confidence, yet when He was challenged and confronted, He never defended Himself. He often defended His Father’s interests, but never spoke of Himself in a proud manner. In fact He said that without His Father He is nothing (John 5:19).

We are often tested on our humility, aren’t we? When people of the world exalt themselves before us and belittle us, the first reaction that burns in our hearts is to defend and exalt ourselves so we don’t have to feel so humiliated. We feel that self-assertive behaviour will re-establish our image with such people and maintain our status.

But the Lord said via James in James 4:10: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you,” and to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts,” and Moses said to the Israelites in Exodus 4:4: “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” The same apply to us. Humility equals faith. If we trust the Lord and rest in Him when we are humiliated, He’ll defend us. We don’t need to act self-assertive, defend ourselves or appear strong. We need to be loving and kind, which are two attributes that the world often confuses with weakness, but which the Lord sees as strength.

Humility is not always easy. It screams against the nature of man, which wants to exalt and defend himself. To shut your mouth when people make you feel weak and insignificant, and when your flesh screams to defend itself takes faith. You need to trust the Lord. When you’ve accomplished something great in your eyes, the natural inclination is to boast about it, often in a subtle way, and then it’s not easy to keep quiet and let the moment pass, since the glory belongs to the Lord.

Without the Lord we are nothing (John 15:5) and humility is the attitude that admits it. Pride wants to tell us we’re something. We’re living in a world that expects of us to exalt ourselves. Jesus said in Luke 14:11 and elsewhere: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind (1 Peter 3:8).”

Lord, if there is any pride in me, please humble me.

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