Have you ever heard the story of David? Not the David sitting in your calculus class or your next-door neighbor David, I'm talking about King David-the King over all of Israel, one of the greatest in history. Not only was he victorious in every battle, lived in a huge palace, and had access to anything he wanted with the snap of a finger, but he was also humble.
Humility can be defined as not thinking too highly of yourself as you ought to (according to my wonderful mother). It is the opposite of pride and arrogance. Being humble is an act of selflessness and modesty. God wants us to humble ourselves before Him because He alone is holy and perfect. We don't deserve Him, but He deserves our praise and we should give the glory to God! King David the the perfect role model for humility. Even after defeating all of the greatest armies in the world at the time, instead of gaining pride and thinking He was a great King, He gave it all to God. In 1 Chronicles 17:16 he says, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?" This a true act of humility. David wrote most of the Psalms, which simply give God praise and credit for making David who he was. Let's face it: without God we would be nothing. He alone created us and gives us the talents in the first place. This is why we must humble ourselves before Him and practice humility. Matthew 23:12 (also in Luke 14:11) says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." If you are are prideful and arrogant, God will humble you. However, if you are humble, God will exalt you! Isn't this amazing? So practicing genuine humility pays off. It's much harder than it seems, though.
When was the last time you said the word "I"? Probably within the last few minutes of your latest conversation. We constantly focus on ourselves and put ourselves up by bragging or boasting about our various accomplishments. It's a challenge not to talk about ourselves. Now imagine spending an entire conversation talking about other people or better yet, God and how He has brought about accomplishments in your life. So many times we miss the main goal. The purpose is to glorify God and not ourselves. Humility is exalting God up for the successes in our life. King David may seem infallible in the Bible, but he had his mistakes too, he was just humble in behavior.
Whether it's in the way we dress (modestly) or the way we talk, humility is a vital virtue in life. Instead of comparing yourself to the world and its standards, compare yourself to God. King David did this and instead of saying "look how great I am" he said "who am I?" that God has brought me here? It's time to evaluate your life and see if you would think the same way. Do you compare yourself to God, or the world? When we take God's power and holiness in consideration, we realize how little we are compared to Him. He is perfect, and we fall short of that standard. Luckily, Jesus fixed that gap and allowed us to have a relationship with Him. But that doesn't stop us from being humble. We still must practice humility and focus on God's glory. Because we would be nothing without Him. <><
-Humility image from Google
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