Thursday, March 1, 2012

Thoughtful Thursday: Humility

Humility.
What does it mean to be humble?
Dictionary.com defines humility as:

hu·mil·i·ty

[hyoo-mil-i-tee or, often, yoo-]
noun
the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.


lowliness, meekness, submissiveness.

pride. 


Every now & again, God puts a word on my heart. This is the one that has been replaying in my mind all day today. Am I humble enough? If I'm honest with myself, I don't think I am (at least, not as humble as I could be).  Let's face it, if I were at that Wedding Feast (parable in Luke 14), I'd probably worm myself into a seat 2/3 of the way up toward the head of the table -- after all, I may not be the most important person, but I'm pretty special ;)... then, of course, I'd be humbled when asked to move further down the table. ::sigh::

I need to remember that (1) I'm flawed, so I have no right to cast stones & (2) every person is loved by God -- whether they love Him back or not.  If my Father loves someone, I should follow His example & pray for His forgiveness if I find myself thinking more of me than of them. Humility is a great thing to strive for (despite my difficulty with achieving it).

More Bible Verses about "Being Humble" (from OpenBible.info):
  • "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
    Ephesians 2:8&9
  • "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
    Proverbs 16:18
  • "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
    Matthew 5:5