Humility and Pride

and how you relate to God and others

ver.: 02 May 2008

This harvest of spiritual fruit is ripe for the picking :

• love (agape);
• joy (chara);
• peace (eirene);
• patience (makrothumia);
• kindness (chrestotes);
• goodness (agathosune);
• faithfulness (pistis);
• gentleness (prautes);
• self-control (enkrateia).

Humility

humility : the condition or quality of being humble. A noun form of the adjective "humble"; also "humbleness". [ < Old French, < Latin humilis (lowly, low to the ground), < humus (ground, dirt)] Humble: characterized by modesty in behavior, spirit, or attitude; showing deference or reverence or submission; low in rank, quality, or social position. In most religious and self-help contexts, it means having a sense of perspective about oneself and one's real value instead of a perceived, fantasy, or promotion-based value. The word-field of this side of 'humble' includes lowly, meek, meekness, modest, modesty, well-grounded, unpretentious, restrained, unassuming. The Greek word in Colossians 3:12 is tapeinophrosune, a compound word (tapein (low to the ground) + phren (gut, diaphragm; the mind was thought to be located there) ). It implies a solid sense of proportion and self-smallness, and relates to how one thinks of oneself.

The verb form 'to humble' is less salutary. It means that someone/thing makes someone else humble, especially someone who had been proud or of high rank. Unlike the adjective, the verb form implies "power over". The noun form of this verb is "humiliation", which in turn led to another verb form "to humiliate". Other verbs in the verb's word-field include abase, debase, degrade, demean, disgrace, and shame.

Both thrusts of the word are amply found in the Bible.

According to the Bible, humility can be caused by an awareness of

• sinfulness
• unworthiness
• limitations
• God's holiness
• God's justice
• lowliness of mind
• destituteness in spirit.

Humility is what God requires of us. God is most often at the side of those who have been brought down, and will not despise a contrite heart.

In Colossians 2:18-23, Paul speaks of what humility is really about, and warns about false or artificial humility.

A proverb notes what God's justice does in making the proud humble.

Humility and Being Humble

In Christian terms, to be humble is to have an honest perspective on yourself. It comes from the same root as 'humility', but also the same root as 'humiliation'. Being humble is not about being humiliated. Christian humility is understanding that you are not more important or more valuable or more loved by God than anyone else, that God has given each of them something special. Christian pride is based on the understanding that you are not less important or valuable or totally loved by God than anyone else, that the Spirit has given you something special, too. Humble people have the right frame of mind for putting to use the gifts God has given them. If you think yourself 'better than', you aren't likely to use the gifts to serve others. If you think yourself 'better than', you harbor the desire or hope that you can get others to serve you. If you follow Jesus, you follow a God who dined with tax collectors and traitors, washed his followers' feet, and died like a criminal with criminals. There is no 'better than' in this. This is the heart of being humble : serving a God who is greater than us.

You can also check humble and humility in the dictionary.

Pride

and what to be proud of

In Christianity, pride means many things, but most of them center on the concept of a person who demands "My will be done", who believes themself to be more important and better-valued than others, who believes themself to be in the best or most rightful place to judge others. Christianity is not about getting your way, it is about following Jesus Christ, most centrally when He faced His coming execution with a hard-won call to His Father that "Your will be done". It is about following a God who didn't think it beneath divine value to live a human life and die a human death. It is about following a Jesus who said "judge not, lest you be judged".

The Christian has every right to have pride of workmanship, achievement, success, and ability. If you are the best (or close to it), that's a positive thing, and no good can come from lying to yourself about it. But it matters to God what you are doing with it. Are you boosting your own skills or status, or building up others to be better than they are and to dream the dream of doing what God has given them their gifts to do? A Christian can embrace being "better"; the sin side of pride takes root when they embrace being "better than". The sin side of pride comes in puffery and self-promotion, in the "look-at-me" focus of today's celebrities. Pride comes in getting by on mere image when there's no reality behind it, and creating an empty edifice of what you try to seem to be. Pride says "I did it"; Christian faith says "God chose to do it through me". A Christian seeks to build a healthy paradox : a humble pride which is fully honest and keeps its perspective.

You can also check pride in the dictionary.

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