A closer look at virtue: humility By Molly Carman, Op-ed contributor for Christian Post
The first virtue that we discussed, kindness, is concerned with seeing and treating others rightly. The second virtue, humility, is concerned with seeing ourselves rightly.
Humility is a difficult virtue to cultivate and maintain because as soon as someone thinks they have become humble, they likely no longer are. However, Scripture speaks of humility as a disposition that is essential to a righteous and holy life. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
Furthermore, Proverbs speaks frequently about the virtue of humility: “The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life” (22:4), and “Humility comes before honor” (18:12b).
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Christ Himself was characterized as the humble servant who denied Himself to the point of death (Phil. 2:8). As Christians, we are called to imitate Christ’s example of humility (Matt. 16:24).
If humility is the practice of rightly ordered perception of oneself in relation to others and before God, how then should we perceive ourselves?
As in everything, we ought to take our cues from God’s Word. First of all, the Bible tells us that all humans are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Therefore, everyone — including ourselves — possesses great dignity and worth on account of our Creator (Ps. 139:14, Mat. 22:20-21).
Elsewhere, the Bible says that mankind is created “a little lower than the heavenly beings” and “crowned with glory and honor” (Ps. 8:5). This high view of humanity is tempered by the reminder that we are made of dust (Gen. 2:7, 3:19; Ps. 103:14; Ecc. 3:30) and are mortal, our lives are like a vapor (Gen. 6:3; Ps. 39:5, 78:39, 144:3; James 4:14).
Furthermore, all humans have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23, Is. 53:6). Not one of us is righteous — we all need a savior (Rom. 3:10-11, 6:23). This knowledge should shape the way we think about ourselves, others, and our standing before God.
In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis explained a common misconception about humility: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” In other words, humility is not a feeling of low self-esteem. Such thoughts lead to ungodly habits of self-degradation and idolization of others. True humility courageously decides to consider others’ well-being before your own and acknowledges God’s holiness and authority.
