The Most Important Things to Know about Humility

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I had two goals for this month-long look at humility. Here's what you need to know about humility.

I had two goals for this month-long look at humility.

To have humility in my:

Relationship with God

To know God more . . . not about Him but Him. To sit at His feet with awe and wonder. To pay closer attention to what He is doing around me. To spend less time thinking about me and more time thinking about Him.

Relationships with People

To learn more about what it means to live humbly with people and still be a strong, courageous, follower of Jesus. To find a better balance between caring for others and caring for me. To see what true humility looks like in a society where it is often discouraged.

So, how did it go?

What are the most important things I learned and you need to know about humility?

1. To have true humility I have to remember, “It’s not about me.” 

It’s about:

Trusting God to have my best interest at heart.
Believing that His every Word and promise is absolute truth.
Being confident He will meet my every need with love.

2. To live with humility, I only need to live out God’s personal plans and purposes for me. 

Comparing myself to others robs my joy and makes it hard for me to do the things God wants me to do.

God isn’t comparing you and me to anyone else. We all fall short of His perfection; yet, He still chooses to use us for His glory. 

I had two goals for this month-long look at humility. Here's what you need to know about humility.

3. To grow in humility, I need to know God, to sit at Jesus’ feet . . . to grow closer in our relationship. 

The measure of humility in your life and mine will always be in direct proportion to what we believe to be the truth about God. Greater God equals lesser me.

When I think about how awesome God is, how amazing His creation, how immeasurable His love . . . I am flattened. I am humbled.

4. Knowing God forgives and loves me is overwhelming and humbling news worth sharing. 

No matter how you and I feel – we are loved. 

The King of kings and Lord of lords gave up everything to show us how much. No success will make Him love you more. No failure will make Him love you less.

5. True humility finds contentment and satisfaction in God, not in having or being the best.

I just need to do my best. Trust and follow God’s guidance and be humble. To find my source of contentment in my relationship to God through Jesus and celebrate His blessings.

With possessions, power, and, popularity this week’s “best” will always be replaced with next week’s new and improved.

6. It’s hard to live out humility with other people in a sinful world.

People are annoying, self-serving, prideful, and at times, just plain difficult. Living out humility with people who aren’t . . . isn’t easy. But I can follow Jesus example of strong humility.

Humility is strength under control.

7. Sometimes the hardest place to be humble is at home with those closest to me.

Humility is shown in the little ways you and I offer love. It shows itself in sacrifice and service.

Extra grace is always required in our homes. We will never be perfect at this humility thing. The important thing is to never give up.

8. Things will make me angry and that’s okay. It’s possible to be humble and angry.

Sin should make me angry; however, I need to be careful not to become proud or self-righteous in my anger. I need God’s help to practice humility when I’m angry.

“Hot heads and cold hearts never solved anything.” ~Billy Graham

9. There will always be proud and entitled people in my life.

It’s hard not to get caught up in their drama or let them kill my joy but with God’s help, I can remember… to stay patient and not take their words and actions personally.

“Kindness is just love with its work boots on.” ~Author unknown

10. The most important part of living humbly is surrendering completely to God and following wherever He leads.

Living humbly insists I remember . . . even as I fulfill His plans and purposes, I am only using the gifts and abilities He has given.

You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing. Ephesians 2:8–10

The #1 thing I learnedHumble people don’t think they’re humble.

Living humbly requires an awareness that pride is always fighting for my attention.

I had two goals for this month-long look at humility. To have humility in my: 1. Relationship with God and 2. People. What you need to know about humility.

Let me ask you one last time…

Has your number changed?

On a scale of 1 to 10 – If 1 is proud (completely self-focused) and 10 is humble (completely God and others focused) where would you fall?

Proud  1       2      3      4      5     6      7     8      9      10  Humble

Humility is more complex than I ever imagined. Jesus commanded it and modeled it. And the blessings of following His example are immeasurable.

They are blessed who are humble, for the whole earth will be theirs. Matthew 5:5

Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great. Matthew 23:12

Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29

I will continue to slide up and down the scale, but I’m more aware and more than ever . . . I’m humbled by God’s grace, mercy, and love.

What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about humility?

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21 Comments

  1. Bethany Thomson says:

    I’m not sure we should practise humility in every situation. Sometimes, you just don’t have to accept what you don’t like or don’t think is right for you.

    1. I completely agree, Bethany. Humility is NOT being a doormat. There are many times when ‘no’ is more than acceptable. I think if I were going to wrap humility up in a couple of sentences, I would say . . . “Humility is knowing who I am vertically – created and loved by the indescribable awesome God, and horizontally – able to love people with kindness and respect with God’s help. And it is an every day challenge. Whew. Thanks so much for adding a great point.

  2. One of my favourite hymns is “Be thou humble”…

    Be thou humble in thy weakness and the Lord thy God shall lead thee
    shall lead thee by the hand and give the answers to thy prayers
    Be thou humble in thy pleading and the lord thy God shall bless thee
    shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares

    …..one way we can know that we are heading in the right direction form pride to humility is having and increased feeling of that sweet calm assurance that he cares.

    thanks for you post this week… it reminded to me to look out more for those moments jx

    1. Thank you, Jade. His calm assurance is an amazing gift isn’t it? Thanks so much for joining the conversation and for sharing that beautiful verse.

  3. “Humility is strength under control” That’s worth remembering! I have really enjoyed this series on humility. I have learned a lot from you, Deb. You’re right…humility is much more complex than I would have initially thought. Thank you for sharing this series.

    1. Thank you, Dawn. I agree. I had a very narrow view of humility at the beginning of the month. I’m so thankful God is taking me on this journey of faith. Thank you so much for coming along. You bless me!

  4. Deb, you have inspired me so with this series on humility. Every time I feel that urge to be prideful, I will think of the examples Jesus set for us, take a step back, and ask forgiveness.
    Blessings!

    1. Thank you so much for your kind encouragement, Martha! So thankful for His forgiveness when I let self sneak in and make me prideful.

  5. “Kindness is just love with its workboots on!” – that made me smile so BIG! Love it, Deb. And as a matter of fact, I really loved this whole series. I think it’s my favorite so far in your Faith Project!
    Hugs,
    Lori

    1. Thank you, Lori! It’s probably been both the hardest and the one that has taught me the most. I had so many misconceptions about humility. This has been a blessing-filled journey so far. Thanks for taking it with me.

  6. Kim Jolly says:

    Deb,

    Thank you for doing this series on humility. I find myself needing the reminder that it’s about God, not about me or anyone else.

    Blessings!

    1. I needed that reminder too, Kim. It may be the most important thing I learned from the month.

  7. Hey Deb,
    Another great post on humility!
    I really appreciate this word, “Things will make me angry and that’s okay. It’s possible to be humble and angry.” Comforts my heart today after a really hard conversation yesterday!
    Glad we are moving on to other topics – humility is hard!!
    Blessings,
    Melanie

    1. Humility is hard Melanie, but we’re moving on to patience. I’m not sure it’s much easier. In fact, I lost internet this morning as I was getting ready to write. And I’m not a fan of living out the learning. God is growing me this year for sure. Thanks for taking the journey with me!

  8. Thanks, Deb, for this excellent series. I pray my number has changed, but I also know the Lord and my husband would be the best judge of that! Blessings on your fine work on this series!

    1. Thank you, Pam! I pray my number leans toward humility too. I’m sure it depends on the day, but I want to stay aware and keep humility as my goal. Blessings to you!

  9. Don Woodruff says:

    Good information! What bothers me is those who seem to be proud of their humility. Thanks for posting!

  10. Jay Cookingham says:

    Patience enables us to walk through difficulties with the staying power of love. Thanks Deb for sharing this!

  11. Ruthie Gray says:

    Deb, I love your little humility scale (although I won’t share my number because it’s embarrassing)! And your thoughts on what you learned. Jesus was the ultimate humble one, wasn’t he? We need look no further on this subject than Himself.

    Comparison is such a problem we have when we don’t trust God. He has a plan for each of us, as you so aptly pointed out!

    Wise thoughts as usual, Deb. Always enjoy your stuff.

  12. Thank You FOR Sharing Deb????????????????♥️GREAT Series❗️❗️Humility ???????? Grace, Unconditional LOVE ❤️,Forgiveness ????ALL Qualities that WE NEED to REFLECT JESUS ????????☝????Apparently You Were Lead To DO THIS ????????????????♥️And It’s Not ALWAYS easy to Look At Ourselves BUT We Honestly NEED to????Thank You AGAIN ❗️G-d♥️Bless

    1. Thanks again for your kind encouragement, Cheri! We are called to reflect Jesus and share His love! Amen! God bless you!