“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble…” are familiar lyrics to an old song and introduce us to the first character habit in our Christian Character Counts Series. The first teaching of Jesus is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matthew 4:17),” when applied appropriately, a humble spirit follows where humility is cultivated in the soul resulting in a lifestyle of repentance and goodness.
It makes sense to begin a character study with humility because it’s where Jesus began his ministry to transform bad attitudes into good ones. Humility is the basis of a caring and compassionate approach towards God, others, and self, and is the opposite of being timid or narcissistic (prideful). It’s facing life beneficially to give birth to a new outlook where all things work for good (Romans 8:28). As a character strength; humility is what it means to be “poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3). Simply, the characteristic of humility is an attitude of growth with a willingness to objectively learn the best practices of life based on a divine worldview to be fulfilled personally and relationally.
Someone with humility as a character trait is inviting and easy to spot; they are helpful with permission and don’t insist things are done their way. They are quick to forgive and difficult to offend. A humble person understands personal limits and boundaries of self and others. Humble people are very thankful and considerate towards goodness for all. Finally, a person who lives out humility says sorry when a mishap happens and doe’s something about it to turn things around for good. Micah 6:8 says, “He [God] has told you, humanity, what is good, and what Adonai [the Lord] is seeking from you: Only to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
To unite humility into character, a person needs an accurate understanding of power and limitations in life. Strengths come from trusting in the Lord and understanding how people are weak in stark contrast to God (Proverbs 3:5-6). When people allow humility to flourish, they own their imperfections and seek to learn not to waste time or energy on them to be fruitful or influential in their outcome. A great way to fulfill this need is not to take yourself too seriously and use humor as a life tool. All people can benefit from laughing about themselves and their imperfections to ease the tension of developing a good attitude.
Welcoming humility into character takes some practice. Once mindfully following God, expressing gratitude to others is a great way to start boosting a humble state of mind. Doing so will show people their value and let them know their good influence. Much more can be said and done, but for now, rather than singing common words to an old worldly song, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble…,” let’s believe and act Jesus’s way to create a humble spirit that counts where we all can sing a new heavenly song, “Oh Lord, it’s helpful to be humble….”
Until our next lesson on “confidence,”
Cheers,
Pastor Drake