“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
Self-righteousness is an ugly look on most people, but particularly on those who call Jesus Lord. It sets the stage for a false assessment of ourselves in the sight of man as well as in the sight of God. The cloak of self-righteousness blinds us to our current flaws by denying our past failures. The inability to see our own shortcomings or simply overlook them cultivates a disposition that lacks empathy in the face of other people’s weaknesses. Humbleness keeps us from falling into the perils of self-righteousness.
Humble before God
Before the story of Job ends, it depicts what it means not to be humble before God. Beginning in chapter 38, God challenges Job’s response to his friends’ accusations. Unable to answer God’s inquiries, Job encountered the reality of his feebleness and proceeded to humbly repent. How many times have we murmured concerning what we considered God somewhat mistreating us? Though we may not have been among those who voiced it, we failed to understand that He knows our thoughts before they have entered our minds. As Job did, we missed the mark because of a lack of awareness of who we are in comparison to God. We find in Isaiah 64:8 an illustration of the posture to assume in practicing a humble walk before God. Like clay to the potter, we are in the hands of God, whose sovereignty allows Him to choose to do what He deems best for us. As the clay, we do not contribute to fashioning the outcome decided by the potter. We simply yield to wherever God pulls. The act of humbling oneself before God rests on a foundation of trust in Him. In trusting God, we can build inner confidence, powered by the Holy Spirit, that allows us to surrender to God with ease. As His child, when God intervenes in the areas of our lives, whether it brings joy or pain, we are to humbly submit to His Will.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up”. James 4:10
Humble before Others
When we humble ourselves before God, we are strengthened and equipped to be humble toward people, such as, but not limited to, spouses, employers, church leaders, and others in positions of authority. Humbleness allows us to forgive the offenses we continue to relive in our hearts and minds. Even when we are on the right side of a disagreement, the capacity to operate in humility is possible when we live in humbleness toward God. This expression towards others is rooted in the choice made to exalt others above ourselves. Therefore, we no longer needed to gain attention for ourselves. When we are not full of ourselves, slipping into the garment of humility becomes natural.
“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” I Peter 3:8
“Humbleness does not require us to dummy down rather it causes us to resist the need to be seen”_ASA
Chronicles of ASA 