What Does it Mean to Be Humble?
Humble Yourselves .. James 4:10
The enemy is extremely afraid that we might find out who we are in Christ. This is most likely the devil's worst nightmare, because it throws a huge wrench into his plan to be sure that today's Christian feels lousy about his/her self.
Why does the enemy work so hard to be sure that we do not come to the understanding of who we are in Christ?
Because a Christian that knows who they are in Christ is a dangerous Christian to the devil and his plans. A Christian who knows who they are will be loving, bold, confident, joyful, peaceful, generous, well you get the picture! A confident and sure Christian is a threat to the enemy. Whereas, the enemy is a threat to the less than confident and unsure and unlearned Christian.
Our self-respect is important to God. He wants us to feel good about ourselves. This gives Him enhanced moveability in and through our lives.
There are many men in the Bible that God encouraged .. Moses, Gideon, Job .. the list is long. David took it upon himself to encourage himself in God. Though, God can and does encourage .. We are able also to encourage ourselves in Him, so that we are never without excuses in our self-esteem or self-respect.
There are many dangers in not being able to see ourselves as God sees us. We fall into temptations such as jealousy and envy and strife. Hatred and variance. We do not think on things that are lovely and pure and Godly, instead our minds are on the opposite. We lose our sense of discernment. Evil looks good and good looks evil. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other people, instead of comparing ourselves to the Word of God.
There is no condemnation to those that believe. There is no guilt no shame. If you or I are experiencing condemnation or guilt or shame, we can rest assured we are not getting these feelings from God, instead we are allowing the enemy access into our very souls.
Now, we are not to exalt ourselves either. 1 Peter 5 warns us to remain humble and allow God to exalt us in due time.
Many people get hung up on the word humble and the word meek. They believe that they are humble when they are experiencing feeling bad or even speaking down about themselves. However, this is contrary to God's Word. God is a builder, not a destroyer. Humble or meek is an attitude. True humility or meekness says, "I feel good about myself and I love myself so therefore I can feel good about you and love you too!" We are to have an attitude of humility and meekness.
quote .. "We would do well if, in the spirit of humility, we recognized the true dignity of our regenerated nature and lived up to it." .. end quote
To be humble means that our minds must be on constant and vigilant guard. Being humble means having a 'victor' mentality and not a 'victim' mentality (knowing that you have already won, will result in a healthy self-respect).
To be meek does not mean to be quiet and sit in a corner or become a doormat. It does however, mean we must realize the needs of others and know their needs are as important or even more so, than our own.
Someone said .. We must realize there is 'honest pride' and on the flip side there is 'hypocritical humility' and we must choose between the two.
quote .. Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all. This really helps me to understand better what God is asking when he tells me to be humble.- William Temple
Humility and/or meekness does not mean we are to be inferior to others or broken down in shame or guilt or condemnation. Actually, this is the world's idea of being humble or remaining meek and we all know where the world get's it's ideas!
Humility is knowing whose we are and who we can count on in every situation. Humility is knowing that while we do not know everything, we have the answer. Humility knows we have limits, but will not limit the ability of God in us. Humility allows us to be the person God intended us to be.
As the Bible instructs .. BE HUMBLE!
"...Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." --Marianne Williamson
