How to Humble Yourself Without Becoming Proud of It
7 Practical Actions toward Humility
The apostle Peter encourages us, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” (I Peter 5:6). What a strange command! Won’t the very act of humbling ourselves create pride? And how exactly do we humble ourselves?
The Bible offers very practical choices that sidestep that risk. Though we may not be able to define humility precisely, certain actions will move us in the direction of humility.
1. Don’t exalt yourself – Avoid the subtle ways that self-exaltation creeps in. We may justify our bragging by thinking, “I’m just sharing.” “I’m just excited.” Either way, it ends up communicating, “Look at me. I am worthy.” Observe how it feels to choose not to let others in on your “greatness.” The second half of the verse quoted above, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,” is “and He will exalt you at the proper time.” When we jump in and exalt ourselves, we miss the opportunity to watch God exalt us.
2. Consciously elevate others – One of the best ways to talk less about myself is to talk more about others. My interest in others and my choice to compliment others chip away at my self-absorption. The beauty of this tactic is that it feels so good to lift others up and watch them brighten.
3. Practice service. Make service a habit – Choosing to serve others without drawing attention to yourself builds humility.
4. Associate with people different from you – We come to understand that everyone is valuable in God’s eyes as we spend more time with those different from ourselves.
5. Do anonymous good deeds – Try this and discover how difficult it is. Can you do something good without telling anyone, ever? Jesus warned, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them” (Matt 6:1).
6. Give away your time and your money to people in need who have nothing to offer you in return – Selfless acts void of ulterior motives soften our hearts.
7. Worship God – John the Baptist is our guide here as he told his disciples, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” The very act of worship recognizes that God is greater than us. The deeper the worship, the more aware we become of the magnitude of God’s presence. When confronted with the presence of God, Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Is 6:5)
I encourage you to pick one of these practices and focus on it for at least a week. Observe how it feels. What is hard about it? Does it change how others respond to you? Do you, by chance, notice an increase in joy and peace?
I agree both in how hard it is and what a check it can be to our motives.
I think I'm going to work on giving anonymously this week. And you're right, it's VERY difficult to do. Even after you give in secret, there's a temptation to tell someone about it. But I think giving in secret is the only way to be sure that your motives are pure. Thanks for these great reminders, Tommy!