Humility: The Forgotten Virtue

Question: When was the last time you saw a movie where the main character’s primary trait was humility? What about our political campaigns? See any humility there lately? Thankfully, we are starting to see some articles on LinkedIn recently, stressing the importance of humility. However, these articles generally fall short in three ways:  

First, there is little emphasis on the spiritual dimension of humility, as humility is to be demonstrated first in the presence of God, not people. James 4:10 say, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord.” Person-to-person humility flows much more naturally from a humility expressed first in the presence of God.

Second, humility is now being encouraged almost exclusively among those in leadership. As welcome as this trend is, there needs to be a parallel trend among those who follow their lead. Note that, in 1 Peter 5:1–5, Peter begins by exhorting the elders not to lord their authority over the flock, then tells the young men (those who follow) to subject themselves to their leadership, and then sums up by saying, “All of you, clothe yourselves in humility toward one another.” (1 Peter 5:5). So humility is for everyone. 

Third, the articles that encourage humility often miss the primary motivation. The reason we show humility is not because it will assist the company or help the bottom line, but because this is the primary means by which we experience the favor of God. The Bible tells us twice—in James 4:6 and in 1 Peter 5:5—that God gives His grace to the humble. Grace is another way of saying “favor.” So, those who show humility put themselves in a position to where God’s favor can reach them. This is more valuable than employee loyalty or customer satisfaction.

Humility Moves the Heart of God

There is one further truth most of us miss on the subject, and that is just how much of a motivating factor humility is to God. It literally moves Him. Here is a key axiom in the Kingdom of God: 

Humility always stirs God’s heart to pour His favor into our lives. 

Walk with me through a couple of Old Testament examples.

Exhibit 1: Ahab

Consider the story of King Ahab, who ruled the northern kingdom of Israel. He was more wicked than all the kings who ruled before him. (1 Kings 16:30, 33; 21:25–26) Because of his extreme wickedness, God sent Elijah to tell him that his entire household, including himself, his wife, and his 70 sons, would be wiped out. (I Kings 21:20–24). After he heard this, Ahab was devastated. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, fasted, and walked about meekly (the Hebrew reads “softly” in 21:27). When God saw this, He told Elijah, “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil upon his house in his days, but . . . in the days of his son.” (21:28–29) This was a measure of favor. As awful as God’s judgment would be, Ahab would never see it. 

Exhibit 2: Manasseh

Next, consider King Manasseh, who ruled the southern kingdom of Judah. He too was heedless in the level of wickedness he displayed. (2 Kings 21: 11–12) After tolerating Manasseh’s wickedness for decades, God had the barbaric Assyrian army come and put hooks in his body and take him in chains to Babylon. (2 Chronicles 33:11) As a result Manasseh, like Abah before him, was completely undone. When he was  in great distress, Manasseh “humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.” (v. 12) So what does God do? He is moved to mercy! After all of Manasseh’s wickedness, even after he had killed many innocent people, (2 Kings 21:16) the biblical record says that God “was moved by his entreaty and his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom.” (v. 13, emphasis mine) 

What This Means

Fast forward to the present. This issue of humility explains how so many people who would say they are believers never really find God’s favor. They are never at peace in their own hearts. They have dotted all the “i”s and crossed all the “t”s; they have confessed their sins, thanked Jesus for dying on the cross, asked for forgiveness, and asked Him to be the Lord of their lives. They’ve said all the right words, but they have never humbled themselves in His presence. This leads us to a long-neglected truth: Humility is central to salvation. We don't know this because we haven't been taught this. Not only has the world neglected and misunderstood humility; the church has, too.

Recall the words of Jesus: “Unless you turn and become as a child, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) The phrase “by no means” is the strongest negative grammatical structure known in the Greek language. It can read “there is no way that this is remotely possible. It’s not going to happen.” So the reverse axiom of James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 is that God never gives us grace until we humble ourselves. It can’t happen. He's not looking for the right words, but for broken hearts. These two kings could have said, “Boy, did I blow it,” and just moved on.

Right words, but no humility, so no favor.

But thankfully, they responded well, and it is no accident that the two most wicked kings in the history of God’s people both humbled themselves, and both subsequently found favor with God. So the unavoidable truth is: It doesn’t matter what you’ve done; it doesn’t matter how far down the road you have gone away from God; it doesn’t matter how much you have cast His words behind your back or even shaken your fist at him. It doesn’t matter. God always responds to humility. It's almost like He can’t help Himself. It’s the one human trait He can’t resist. 

Psalm 51:17 says, "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." There are two ways to express a negative in Hebrew. One means "not in this particular case," and the other means "never under any circumstance." Psalm 51:17 makes use of the second kind of negative. When you come to him humble and broken, He will not reject you. Never, never, never. If God's compassion is good for the two wickedest kings in the history of God's people, it is good for you.

If you’ve made a royal mess of your life, or know someone who has, please know: Redemption begins at the point of genuine brokenness. God’s heart is always deeply moved by a person who is completely undone before Him. 

And when His heart is moved, His hand is not far behind.