It's Hard to be Humble

Let's face it. Being humble is hard sometimes. It seems there are so many people trying to put us down, that being humble can feel like we are just acting against ourselves.

By Dingler, via Flickr, used under CC BY 2.0

And it doesn't seem like the world around is promoting humility very much, either. Have you ever noticed that the people in an office that talk about themselves a lot, are the very ones that seem to get ahead?  And the quieter ones -- well -- they often get ignored!

Humility, even in its very definition sounds kind of unpleasant: One meaning is to "have a low estimate of one's self." Another definition describes someone of a "low rank," or someone of "less importance." 

But the Bible says, in Micah 6:8b, "what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

What does that mean? It means I am not meant to live my life, as if it was just me. I am not supposed to stand there, and act like only I count, and not worry about anyone else.

Being humble means I am part of something bigger and more important than myself. Being humble means that God is more important and I am someone of lower rank, and less importance than Him. And I am also willing to be less important, and of lower rank, than other people.

Does that mean I have low self-esteem?  No, not all! It means I am living in love. And living in love means I don't have to be better than anyone else. I just have to be me. And do what I am called to do, to the best of my ability. There's really no need to be better, but it is SO hard to stop the striving sometimes!

I am convinced that the only way to stop pushing ourselves to be better, to always live in the knowledge that God is more important than us. And he loves  us. Because it's so easy to get off track.

Here is one more passage, from my reading this morning:

"I ... beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. Will all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love."

Ephesians 4:1b-2