Are you humble? That’s a trick question! If you say “Yes”, you probably are not; and you probably are not if you say “No”.
Humility is illusive. Once we think we have it, we lose it. Yet, when it comes to being humble in the Bible, we are to “humble ourselves” (1 Peter 5:6; James 4:10). It is something we must do intentionally.
Someone said, “Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking more of others.”
LET’S TALK
Chuck Lawless recently shared “11 Questions to Determine if Your Humility is Actually False Humility.” Here are some questions Church listed to determine if that’s the case in your life.
Do you ever talk about your humility? I don’t need to explain this one. If you talk much about striving to be humble, you probably aren’t that humble.
Do you “lovingly” point out the ego of others? Folks who constantly see arrogance in others are often themselves quite arrogant.
Do you often preface sentences with “I hope this doesn’t seem arrogant, but…”? Just that phrase usually says something about where our heart is; it essentially says, “I’m not arrogant now, but I want you to know something great about me.”
Do you draw attention to yourself by your expressions of humility? Some years ago, I knew a young couple who refused to stand in Church because of the depth of their depravity. Every time everyone else stood, they drew attention to themselves.
Do you ever pray something like, “God, thank You for helping me be humble”? I wouldn’t even include this one, except that I’ve heard folks pray similar prayers.
Do you ever bow your head “humbly” when introduced, but secretly love hearing your accolades described? Maybe only God sees through your façade, but your humility is still false.
Do you ever publicly and “humbly” grieve your sin, but choose to cling to it anyway? If so, the humility of your grief is not likely genuine. Believers who cling to sin are idolaters, and idolaters are not humble.
Do you ever “humbly” drop names of people you know? I’ve heard it done something like this: “I don’t know why God would grant me such opportunities, but ___________ is my friend.”
Are you serving in a lowly position now, but assume that it’s just a matter of time before you’re better known? Leaders who use lowly positions as stepping stones are often proud.
When you share your testimony and talk about God’s grace in your life, are you more often the center of the story? It happens—we gratefully recognize that God has been gracious to us, but talk more about ourselves than about Him.
Have you decided that this post has nothing to say to you? If so, it’s possible that you’ve already crossed the line into arrogance.
Originally posted by Chuck Lawless https://chucklawless.com/2018/04/11-questions-to-determine-if-your-humility-is-actually-false-humility/
BEFORE YOU GO
What is your evaluation of your own life? How can we seek humility more tangibly? Love to hear from you!
Coffee with Randall 
Excellent post! If God reallly is “opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble” the importance of humility can’t be over stated.
Another quote, like the one you included: As CS Lewis put it: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”
Thanks, Randy, for this emphasis on humility. As you noted at the beginning, I suspect humility may often be omitted from the list of potential sermon topics since to preach on it is to silently suggest that the speaker has somehow achieved it. Since we know better than to signal such a thing, I wonder if simply avoiding the topic seems easier.
Courage, however, says, take it up and speak of humility often!
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This isn’t a topic we talk about much. We can’t ignore it. Pride always short-circuits our relationship with God and others.
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Excellent post! This went well with my lenten reflection on the meekness that Christ modeled for us. Thank you.
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