What is humility?

It was Rick Warren that said, “Humility is not thinking less of oneself, but thinking of one’s self less”. I agree with him. In simpler terms, humility means coming to the point of realization that the world does not revolve around you. We all need to have an accurate view of ourselves in relation to God and others to truly enjoy life.

Humility and Love

In a different post, I mentioned that I believe that love should be our motivation in life. Love is expressed in different ways and humility is one of them. Few ways I think love is expressed through humility:

Listening: To truly listen to what someone has to say means you value what they have to say. It also means that you care about that person enough to appreciate the time they’re giving you and also to give them your time as well. It’s a sign of respect.

Correction: Receiving correction is tough for me. It’s hard to admit one’s mistakes especially to others. I actually thought about it before starting this blog. I thought about saying the wrong things and getting criticism for it. So what if I say the wrong thing and get corrected? I don’t know everything and I’m not claiming to do so. Growth occurs when one lets go of wrong mindsets and changes for the better. Also, don’t shy away from giving correction, just do it with gentleness.

Service: Without stressing this too much, I think we can all agree that service to others is a display of humility. This may be tricky for some though as we’ve most likely encountered those who perform “acts of service” for selfish reasons. While I understand that, it still doesn’t take away from the innocence of a true act of service and the benefits attached.

Interaction: No one is meant to live life alone. We are social creatures and will be harming ourselves if we isolate ourselves. I came across a proverb that I believe captures this point succinctly. “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. Accepting one’s need for others will help one learn and grow.

Gratitude: Humility is expressed in gratitude. Gratitude towards God and others. Here is an example: I am so grateful for those who have taught me in the past so I want to teach others because I don’t want to see them struggle. I think simply pointing out and appreciating the work of God and others in our lives changes our perspective.

Salvation: This is the ultimate show of humility as it’s tough to come to a point where you realize that life is impossible for you to take on successfully in your strength and wisdom. Humility then drives one to pray in faith to the One who can solve one’s problems. It’s also humility that causes one to realize that we are all sinful by nature and cannot consistently do good without help from a Saviour (Jesus).

Final Thoughts

I hope the relationship between love and humility is clear at this point. Humility causes one to show love and love drives one to a place of humility. They really go hand in hand. With humble love, everyone wins.