Is it possible to ask for humility for prideful and selfish motives? Of course it is! Humility is not the opposite of pride. Praying for humility does not defeat pride. It certainly helps, but it is not the end all solution. Contrary to popular belief, the following is not how pride and humility works:
Pride and humility, though correlated, cannot be put on some spiritual scale that ebbs and flows between prideful, humble, and somewhere in between. It is not a system of give and take.
Humility is NOT important because it is a weapon to fight against pride; it IS important because God is worthy of all the glory. How dare we (in our pride), decide that we are more worthy than God Almighty of even the slightest glory. Humility is living with the conviction that it is not to us, but to God be the glory. David said it perfectly, “Not to us, O Lord, but to God be the glory” (Psalm 115:1). Until we lock eyes with the God who is worthy of all our praise, we will never know humility. He is immeasurably worthy and wholly deserving of everything; God alone is worthy of the praise of men (saved or not).
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
~Colossians 3:17
To understand humility, we must also understand that our lives are not our own. Christ made it very clear when he bid us “come and die.”
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ~Matthew 16:25
You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to. ~1 Corinthians 7:22-23
I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. ~Jeremiah 10:23
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
~2 Timothy 1:8-9
This is God’s story, not ours. He bought me at a price, a price I could not pay. He died for me, took my place on the cross. Died the death, endured the hell, the pain, the torture, that I deserve. You and I, we deserve hell, but God loves us. We are 100%, wholly and completely undeserving of such grace. We have not and cannot earn a place at God’s table. Nevertheless, we have been called honored guests regardless of how undeserving we are. So humble yourself, come off your spiritual pedestal, and recognize the magnitude of His grace and love. Humility is not about us. It is not about growing spiritually; it is about humbling ourselves in order that God receives all the glory of our lives.
Furthermore, humility is seeing ourselves as we are (as God sees us); it is not pretending to be something less than you are not, or even believing that you are less than you are. The words for these are false humility and shame. These mean that you have bought into the lies of the enemy. To live in such a way takes away from the glory meant for God. Paul makes very clear the value and the glory that you are now. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, he states, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” I love how the King James version puts it: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” From glory to glory! In spite of how wretched you may feel, you are being transformed from glory to gory. Paul does not say: “changed from wretched to glory.” He is talking about a present tense glory and continuing, ever increasing glory. In God’s eyes, you are glorious now, and are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory. To see yourself as anything less than you are is a poor reflection of God Almighty, the perfect glory inside of you. This truth must burn deep within your heart if you are to walk in humility.
It is my prayer that we would be a people that hungers to behold the glory of the Lord, a people that cultivate the fear of the Lord, and that humble ourselves in order that we might grow and walk in humility. May our motive for all be to glorify Him, letting this be our ever-present conviction: “God alone is worthy of MY worship.” He is the Worthy One.
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!” ~Revelation 5:11-12
To Him be the Glory
