10 ways to reflect God’s humility
Jesus, in all His magnificent power and glory, is so perfectly assured and secure in who He is that He has no qualms in comparing Himself to a gentle baby lamb. This is the beauty of God’s humility. Human beings, on the other hand, are driven by a constant need to elevate our status. Our pride offends God because He humbles Himself to love and care for us every day.
(See Chinese versions: 简体中文 > 十种方法彰显上帝的谦卑 | 繁體中文 > 十種方法彰顯上帝的謙卑)
Revelation 17:14 ESV They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
Our God is humble
In His perfect humility and compassion, God won’t ask us to do anything He hasn’t done Himself. Here are some examples of exceptional humility that He has set for us.
| 1. He humbles Himself to notice us | Psalm 113:5-6 NASB Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? |
| 2. He humbly submitted to earthly parents | Luke 2:51-52 ESV And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. |
| 3. He lived a very simple humble life | Luke 9:58 ESV And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” |
| 4. He humbled Himself to serve us | Mark 10:45 ESV For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” |
| 5. He humbled Himself to be tortured for our sake | Philippians 2:8 ESV And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross… |
| 6. He humbly forgave those who abused Him | Luke 23:34-35 ESV And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” … And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” |
| 7. He humbly received false accusations | Isaiah 53:9 ESV And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. |
| 8. He continues to humble Himself to carry our burdens | Matthew 11:29 NASB “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. |
Humility brings God’s favour and blessings
God loves those who reflect His humility.
He promises first positions in heaven for those who are willing to be like Him; humbly loving and serving others without selfish motives. When we demonstrate true humility, we are promised wisdom, favour, riches, honour and eternal life from the King of kings and Lord of lords. What an exciting promise. But what does such humility look like?
Matthew 20:16 ESV So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Proverbs 22:4 ESV The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 11:2 ESV When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
Proverbs 3:34 ESV Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.
Ten practical ways to reflect God’s humility
What a wonderful loving and humble God we serve. Thankfully, the Bible includes much guidance on how to practice His humility on earth.
1. Humbly acknowledge God in everything
For the sake of our own souls, we need to regularly bow our hearts to our magnificent, awe-inspiring and humble God. There are no human words that can describe who He is and how He has blessed us.
Job 26:11,14 ESV The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at his rebuke. Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Psalm 8:3-4 ESV When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
Let’s make it a point to always humbly ask God for His will for all our plans and decisions. When we presume we know what’s right, we fall into idolatry because it sets us above God’s will.
1 Samuel 15:23 ESV … and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry…
Proverbs 3:7 ESV Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
2. Confess and repent of pride
Pride won’t allow God to sit on the throne in our hearts to rule over and redeem our past, present and future. This will eventually destroy us. Let us humbly repent for our pride and all the times we have tried to control our own lives in the false belief that we have the power to.
Romans 12:3 NLT … Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Proverbs 11:2 ESV When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
3. Thank God every day
It is God’s will that we thank Him in any circumstance, because He knows this helps us keep our hearts in check. As we humble ourselves, we will be surprised by how long our lists can be if we truly are thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Let us not hesitate to deflect any praise we receive and make it a point to thank our Father in heaven instead. He is the true Source of all our talents and gifts.
4. Stop grumbling
Any form of grumbling, whining or protesting stems from a spirit of self-entitlement and self-righteousness. When we humble our hearts and submit to God instead, we will be positive shining lights in our world.
Philippians 2:14-15 ESV Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
5. Stop passing judgment
We all have the tendency to conclude certain things about other people, not realising that we are in reality, passing judgement on them. It is even worse if we conclude that “they will never change” or “they are beyond hope”. Not only do we judge them, we also curse them. Such judgemental pride assumes we are all-knowing and entitled to condemn others. It also implies that God cannot work a miracle in their lives. This slanders and offends our all-powerful and merciful Father in heaven. This is something we need to actively avoid.
Matthew 7:1 ESV “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
6. Stop boasting
Pride tells us we deserve recognition for our achievements, sacrifices and giving. In some sense, we wish to be worshipped; neglecting that God alone deserves all worship. God promises to reward those who humbly wait on His personal praises, and not crave the recognition and praises of other people. Let us serve, love and sacrifice joyfully, without seeking the approval of people.
2 Corinthians 10:17-18 ESV “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
7. Stop seeking attention
Some people enjoy drawing attention to themselves by being pushy, boastful, crude or antagonistic. All this behaviour is driven by the innate belief that other people should listen to or follow them. Humility, on the other hand, will gently consider others first.
Philippians 2:4 ESV Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Ephesians 4:2 ESV with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
8. Admit mistakes and weaknesses readily
The fear of admitting our faults and vulnerabilities is driven by a desire to protect our personal image. We idolise our reputations at the expense of God’s. Like the apostle Paul, we should not be afraid of exposing our personal weaknesses, so that people will see Jesus’ Holy Spirit working in us. This takes true strength as well as true humility.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
9. Consider others as more important
The thought of considering others first is most unnatural to human beings. Even as children, we loathe to share our candy and toys. True humility is demonstrated when we do just the opposite. It shows our hearts to be free of fears and selfish intentions. We are able to love those whom God loves, regardless of how they behave towards us. Jesus set the perfect example by humbly dying on the cross for all of us.
Philippians 2:3 ESV Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
10. Forgive and bless others
The choice to forgive and bless those who offend us is a true test of our humility and submission to God. The Bible tells us to pray for and bless others, especially those whom we see as our enemies. It doesn’t tell us to try to bless our abusers, it simply tells us to just do it.
Ephesians 4:32 ESV Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Luke 6:27-28 ESV “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Unforgiveness is a form of pride that implies we are better than other people and deserve only worship and adoration. This pride keeps us from being good representatives of a humble God who sent His Son to die for us. In contrast, we are to actively bless those we are inclined to hate, resent or find intolerable, so that they get to experience the wonderful grace of the humble perfect God we serve.
Testimony: Turning from self-centredness at work
“Every time I went to work, I thought about every possible way to raise myself above everyone else. This was normal at my company, the corporate motto was “aim higher!” Even after I became a Christian, I was still very ambitious because I wanted to prove that Christians can be successful in the commercial world too. It wasn’t until my colleagues began to isolate themselves from me that I realised that maybe I wasn’t being such a good example of a Christian after all. I was so convicted of my pride that I went to apologise to a few people for overstepping them in order to gain favour from my superiors. I now approach work from a different angle where I show care for others and not just think about myself.”
May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love the Lord with all your heart and choose to be humble every day.