Can I Know if I am Being Humble?

October, 2003

by: Walt Bertelsen

Perspective On The Epidemic Vice And The Endangered Virtue:

(with apologies to Stuart Scott)

I've been competing with one of our staff pastors to write a book on humility. (Not really, but we kid each other about it!) Christians joke about pride and humility. We frequently talk about how much we need humility. But, if a Christian were to say to you that he is growing in humility, it would somehow seem suspect. You may have heard the proverbial saying, “If you think you're humble, then you're not.”

This saying has the ring of a proverb: it must be true, right? However, Dr. Stuart Scott, in his August message at our men's breakfast, pointed out that this small refrain does not reflect Biblical thinking.

According to the Scripture, believers are commanded in no uncertain terms to be humble: to “have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5); to put on…humility (Col 3:12); to clothe ourselves with humility and not be anxious because God will exalt us in due time (1 Peter 5:5-6). Paul was forthright in stating how he had served the Lord with all humility (Acts 20:19). Furthermore, he actively encouraged believers to follow his example, as he followed the example of Christ (1 Cor 11:1).

Our growth in humility is important to the Lord. God associates humility and the fear of the Lord (Prov 22:4). He is telling us that we are to have a true appreciation for ourselves (our position before God) and a true appreciation of Him and His place of authority in the universe - this is what will bring true wealth, honor, and life. The Lord Jesus set example after example that we should follow Him, and commanded us explicitly that we are to take up His cross and follow Him. One of the most memorable passages in Scripture is the exhortation to us to think the same way as Christ, as He emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a servant, being obedient to death (Phil 2).

I am not trying to repeat here the words of Dr. Scott (hence my apologies), but picking up from what he said and relaying some of what the Lord is teaching my own heart. I mentioned on another occasion that living for Christ is a joyfully doable task. One of the reasons for this is that our Lord does not leave us in the dark when we obey Him and seek His face. God's Word is a lamp to our feet: it not only shows us the way to go in the first place, but also reveals where we have strayed after the fact. This was one of John's main points as he wrote his first letter: “We can know…” Christianity is very much a “know so” religion. We can know that we have eternal life: we know from the fruit of our faith. The fruit John was speaking about is very seeable (for example, 1 Jn 2:3-6). The bottom line: we can know that we are growing in our relationship with Christ. One of the ways that we grow is in humility. We are commanded to do it. He shows us how he is working in our lives and how we are doing — even though, most of the time, it may be our pride that he reveals to us. The obvious caution here is that our hearts are deceitful (Jer 17:9), so we must leave it to the Lord to show us this growth. He gets the credit.

I would encourage everyone of you to get a copy of the tape from Stuart Scott's message. In the course of it, he goes through 31 manifestations of pride and 24 manifestations of humility. Much of the same material is available in a pamphlet titled From Pride to Humility (available at Grace Book Shack).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another.” (Col 3:16)