Make Me Humble
Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.”
Photo by Blake Meyer on Unsplash
The third child-like quality, humility, will be the direct result of seeing ourselves honestly. Most children understand their place in the scheme of things. They are not in charge. This is not the false humility of Dickens’ Uriah Heep, who constantly says he is nobody in order to draw attention to himself. True humbleness of spirit is the opposite of pride.
C.S. Lewis calls pride, “The complete anti-God state of mind.” The humble person understands his or her position in relation to God, who truly is almighty. Pride rejoices in being more powerful, or richer, or smarter than someone else. Humility focuses attention, not on ourselves, but on God and on others.
In the novel, Green Dolphin Street, Marianne expressed the thought that the humble are happy because they don’t have to pretend anymore. They can just be themselves.
The Apostle Paul said: Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing.
For Reflection: What motivates me? Selfish ambition or a desire to serve others?
A Prayer Seed:
Humbled for a season, to receive a name
From the lips of sinners, unto whom He came,
Faithfully He bore it spotless to the last,
Brought it back victorious, when from death He passed.
Caroline Maria Noel, 1890
