A Habit of Humility

A Habit of Humility

The idea that Christians are called to be humble is not a new concept for most of us, but after studying 1 Peter for the past few months, I was reminded of a side of humility that we often forget.

Humility is more than just thinking low of yourself so you can elevate the needs of others. It’s having a correct view of yourself in view of who God says you are.

Self loathing is not humility. Self loathing says “God is not enough for me, so I will deal with things on my own.” Self loathing says “I am not good enough to trust God with my problems.” Self loathing takes the focus off of God and puts it on ourselves.

But, humility is acknowledging our weakness and seeking God’s strength. Just as verse 7 says, we can cast all our anxieties on God because He cares for us. We don’t have to hold onto fear and confusion because we have a God who deeply cares about us.

Pride is the opposite of humility. When someone has an exaggerated view of their accomplishments, they are prideful. But when we are consumed by our worry and refuse to hand it over to God, we are also guilty of being prideful because the focus is on us.

The footnote in my Bible put it concisely — “Worry is a form of pride because it involves taking concerns upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God.”

\Lord, thank you for your open arms that we can run to when we’re filled with worry. Reveal the areas of pride in our lives and help us to walk in humility. We are weak without you God; we need You.

These past few months, I’ve been humbled. I’ve been humbled by my ignorance, my weakness, and my neediness for God to intervene. I’ve been filled with guilt, confusion, anger, and even worry. When there have been opportunities to view myself incorrectly during these turbulent times, I have to remind myself that I am weak, but I have a God who wants me to turn to Him and not wallow in my sadness or anger. He wants me to confess my lack of humility and draw closer to Him.

We can grow in our life of humility as we cast our cares on the Lord.