I posted this over a year ago, but I think it is worth re-posting. Humility This particular quality that God calls us to seems to be one of the most elusive to define or display with any kind of certainty. In college, we used to joke that humility was the virtue you lost just by admitting you had attained it. I think sometimes we make it more complicated than it is. Going around acting like you're just a little worm with no value to anyone is really false humility, because that's fishing for compliments and praise. And it's an act - you're trying to get people to think of you as humble and you can pride yourself on how well you don't think anything of yourself. The Apostle Paul said to the Romans in chapter 12: 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Notice he doesn't say "Do not think of yourself, period." He says "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." Which means of course, that you should think something of yourself. But you should have a correct and sober view of yourself - not too high - you're a fallen, sinful human saved only by God's grace, after all - and not too low -placing yourself beneath everyone's feet is a form of pride. Paul goes on to talk about spiritual gifts, and how each should use the gift God has given him. God has given every believer a spiritual gift, something you're naturally good at to use to benefit the church, and he expects you to use it. It's not pride to admit that you are good at whatever your gift happens to be. John MacArthur points out it's more prideful to fake a gift you don't really have or to hide, downplay or not use a gift you do have. The same is true with the strengths God has given each of us outside the particular realm of spiritual gifts. Those too came from God, after all. He wanted you to have them and to use them. It's not prideful to acknowledge your strengths and abilities as such, or to accept praise for them with grace and a simple thank you. A hanging head or brushing off a sincere compliment is also false humility. (Like when you get a compliment on your pretty outfit, and you say "This old thing?") The truly humble thing to do is to simply (and sincerely!) say thank you. To brush off or hang your head at the gifts and abilities God has given you or to envy the gifts he gave someone else over your own is to denigrate God's judgment in the way he created you. He made you exactly how he wanted you, for exactly the purpose he had for you. True humility is recognizing in accurate measure both your strengths and your weaknesses. Playing either one up or down artificially is pride and false humility. | 
