The Person That God Exalts
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (KJV)
True humility can be hard to find. As a matter of fact, some of us in the Body of Christ have lost sight of what it means to be humble. Here are a few attributes of humble people.
Not full of pride, but instead they act lowly, meek, and modest.
Love, serve, and prefer others. They are not haughty, and they don’t think they are better than others. They lift others up. They are giving and will sacrifice for another’s benefit.
They are willing to do menial tasks and they are willing to stay when they are needed to help solve a problem.
Don’t brag, act boastful, or self-exalting. They aren’t trying to grab the spotlight. They do their good works in secret so the Lord can reward them openly. They are not self-promoters, but are able to be quiet and allow promotion to come from God.
Are obedient to God and those in authority over them. They are submissive, rather than self-willed.
They are teachable, willing to learn from others. Humble people are not know-it-alls.
They are not argumentative, and they don’t have to have the last word. They don’t have a need to be right all the time.
They are quick to forgive.
They are able to walk away from something that didn’t work, such as a project, a relationship, etc.
They are not critical of others, but allow love to cover their faults.
They depend on God, relying on Him to fight their battles. They don’t seek revenge.
They are willing to teach others what they know. They teach and train with a right attitude.
They are not pretenders- they are real. They are who they say they are, and they are able to admit their shortcomings. They are willing to admit when they’re wrong, and they aren’t afraid to apologize.
They are thankful.
They seek to glorify God.
All of us can use a reminder every now and then about humility. We must understand that humility does not mean that we allow people to harm us, but we confront and stand against such behavior in an attitude of love. Jesus is our example. He was humble and we seek to be like Him. Humility reminds us that we are all a work in progress and we all need grace. Humility tells us that without God, we are nothing but dust, but with Him, we can do all things! To put it simply, the humble person needs God and they know it.
