The Benefits of Humility by Steve Douglass
Steve wrote to our staff every month for twenty years—sharing many things God was teaching him and working into his life. I will be sharing one of these regularly here on my Kindling Blog. I’m starting with the importance of having a humble heart. This is from 2005.
As I write this, I have just spoken to the Young President’s Organization Fellowship Forum. I explained how important it is for us, as Christians, not to look to success to give us deep satisfaction of heart. Instead we need to be filled with the Spirit and let Him give us love, joy, and peace.
Unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ is so important. How is that possible? There are two specific actions that can help in dealing with offenses that can lead to disunity: 1. Don’t take into account a wrong suffered. 2. Forgive and ask forgiveness quickly.
So let’s take a look at the primary attitude that makes these actions possible: humility.
Jesus modeled humility superbly. Your attitude/my attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
… Though he was Godo
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
Andrew Murray wrote a short book entitled Humility: the Beauty of Holiness, in which he asserts that Jesus’ humility may well be His most central character quality. From it flowed many of the important qualities He manifested while here on earth.
So, I believe, it is with us. If we are truly humble, we find it much more difficult to “take into account a wrong suffered.” If we have no rights, they can’t be violated.
Those of us who knew Bill Bright personally recognized he was truly a humble man. You might well imagine that, as the full-of-faith man that he was, he sustained some criticism. I often watched him graciously respond to critical comments with love and understanding—because he was a humble man.
Humility also helps us forgive people. One reason we don’t easily forgive is we think that their action was something we would never do. But our pride fools us. There is no action we are totally incapable of committing.
And humility has a few other tremendous benefits for creating unity with others:
It allows us to be teachable. If we are hardheaded, people notice and resent it. James 3:17 speaks of teachability: 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
The second tremendous benefit of humility is it puts us in a position to love unselfishly. Romans 5:8 tells us: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. His kind of love was unselfish.
Humility enables us to be unselfish, which enables us to love as Jesus loved. And then others often respond in kind.
I am not saying becoming humble is easy. But it helps me to seek humility when I see the benefits it brings to being with, relating to, working with others.
The essence of humility shines when I can say to God, “Not my will, but Yours.”