| SCRIPTURE TEXT: “Pride leads to disgrace but with humility comes wisdom. Good people are guided by their honesty; treacherous people are destroyed by their dishonesty” —Proverbs 11 : 2 -3 Humility is that moral character that is so essential in our lives as children of God. Humility comes from the word “humble, which generally means “having or showing modest estimates of one’s own importance.” To be humble also means not being proud, haughty or arrogant – not having an overly high opinion of ourselves and of our achievements. When we are humble, it does not mean we are of no worth at all, though alas, that is what some people think. Indeed in ancient Greece, humility was seen as a very negative characteristic. People of substance were expected to show pride; they were to regard others as people below them. For them, humility meant that they had abased themselves – they had brought themselves down – “lowered themselves” as we say here in Ghana. As human beings, our natural instinct is to be arrogant, proud, and boastful rather than to be modest. Do you remember the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector who went to pray in Luke 18:9-14? The lesson is clear – God is more pleased with humility than with pride. We ought to see humility as very important in one Christian walk. It is a virtue – a highly regarded aspect of good character. In both the Old and New Testament, we read that God exalts or lifts up those who are humble or who have a modest opinion of themselves. Humility means that we should selflessly use what God has given us to the benefit of others. Unfortunately, many of us do not do that. We boast with our talents, skills and spiritual gifts rather than using them for the benefit of others. God gives us gifts so that we will be a blessing to others. We must therefore watch our ways so that we do not peddle our gifts for money or for fame. If there is any boasting that we should do, we should boast in the Lord, knowing that whatever we have has been freely given by Him. |
STAY BLESSED
