Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Humility and the Disappearance of Self

Some mistake humility as an effort to be less than others or a race for last place. Paul’s admonition to think of others as better than yourself can be misinterpreted in this manner. In reality, humility comes solely from knowing ourselves though the eyes of God. Treating others in a deferential manner is an outflow of that.

We are obsessed with who we are in our eyes. We most often base our worth on the ebb and flow of world opinion. We strive for beauty and power and position. We measure ourselves by worldly accomplishments. Depending on how others see us causes us to place our very security on things that cannot save. It causes us to place our source of pride on things that may be worthless tomorrow.

However, Biblical humility literally means to empty ourselves of ourselves. It means to become so strong, so free from worldly concerns that anything other than who we are in Christ is of no consequence at all.

1 comment:

The Atheist Missionary said...

I love that term ... Biblical humility. If there is a more holier than thou religion that Christianity, I would like to know what it is. The ultimate caste system.