Humility (humility).
Humility - what is it?
In the Bible, humility is understood as the absence of pride, the desire to rise above other people. However, humility is not passive submission, but active, bold action.
Article: Humility. “DON’T CONSIDER IT THEFT” Phroneite
An arrogant person considers himself higher than he really is, but humility does not consist in excessive self-abasement, but in a consistent awareness of one’s own insignificance and one’s position in relation to God (for Jesus, in the assimilation of human nature).
Humility is a type of sincerity, standing in the truth. For one who does not realize and does not recognize his insignificance, God cannot become everything: He “gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet 5:5; James 4:6; cf. Job 22:29; Isa 57:15) and grants success with a pure heart (1 Kings 9:4; 1 Chronicles 29:17).
The sin of the Laodicean church (Rev. 3:17) is arrogance (it considers itself rich), which, however, is exposed as self-deception, for God has other standards.
False humility
There is also false humility, the bearers of which humiliate themselves outwardly before people or before God, but by this they only want to show how humble they are.
At its core, it is an underlying arrogance that satisfies only the flesh (Col 2:23; cf. Luke 18:9-14).
Humility is
Humility is a state of a person’s spirit in which he does not think highly of himself (Ecc 7.16) and relies entirely on the mercy of God.
16 Do not be too strict, and do not show yourself to be too wise; why would you ruin yourself? (Eccl. 7:16)
Humility is the opposite of pride (1 Pet 5.5-6).
5 Likewise, you younger ones, obey the shepherds; Nevertheless, as you submit to one another, clothe yourselves with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. (1 Peter 5:5,6)
The highest example of humility is our Lord (Phil 2:8).
8 He humbled himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross. (Phil.2:8)
What a humble person is
A humble person's priority is not personal glory or power, but the well-being of others. For example, a humble husband will not worry if his wife's salary is higher than his. The main thing is that the family is financially secure.
Such a person gratefully accepts loving criticism and advice. He realizes the limitations of his knowledge and experience, and also understands that he does not see himself from the outside.
A humble person appreciates the help of other people and understands how much he owes to them. For example, nowadays children often forget that all the current material, intellectual and spiritual wealth did not fall from heaven to earth and did not appear thanks to the wave of a magic wand.
It was created by millions and billions of our predecessors and contemporaries. Our grandparents won the right to life on Russian soil. They did not allow the fascist conquerors to destroy our people. Then they restored the destroyed country, built factories, schools, shops, sowed fields and harvested crops. And after that, having come into this world with everything ready, someone allows themselves to exalt themselves over their elders, considering them not as advanced as young people!
The humble person realizes that he owes everything to God as the source of all blessings. If He wished, today chipmunks and squirrels would create a high-tech civilization, stage “Romeo and Juliet” on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, and we would peacefully jump through the trees in search of nuts or pluck grass on the green lawn.
We were lucky in many ways. Even outstanding intellectual abilities and talents are not a reason for arrogantly exalting oneself over others. Good genetics, highly professional teachers, wealthy parents, excellent health and other factors that help someone to shine with intelligence and make a dizzying career do not give him the right to wear divine laurels. The more favorable conditions there are in our life, the deeper humility should be.
Is “endure” about a humble person?
This is exactly what atheists think about Christians, remembering Christ’s commandment that we need to turn the other cheek if someone hits us on the first. However, the context shows that Jesus did not mean absolute pacifism.
He meant that we should not succumb to provocations if they try to drag us into an quarrel or fight through offensive words or actions. But He was not a spineless intellectual incapable of defending the truth through force.
Expulsion of traders from the temple (El Greco, before 1570)
Jesus twice drove out money changers and dishonest merchants who profited from the spiritual needs of people from God's temple in Jerusalem. And soon He will destroy all evil on our planet and will not spare even the angels who have fallen away from God.
How to find humility?
Humility, humility - living in truth and righteousness, manifests itself in four aspects:
Humility. How to get it?
Humility before God
Humility before God (Mic 6:8): “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God” (1 Pet 5:6; James 4:10) means realizing your own position before God: “For I know that he does not live in me, that is, in my flesh , good" (Rom 7:18).
This does not mean belittling goodness in itself (which would be an insult to the One who gave it to us), but only that in relation to goodness one must constantly keep in mind the following: “What do you have that you did not receive?”
Then arrogance towards others will also disappear (1 Cor 4:6ff; cf. 15:10).
Article: God's Help “THUS HUMBLE YOURSELF... FOR HE CARE ABOUT YOU”
Full recognition of one’s sinfulness before God (and, above all, honest self-assessment before Him) is, of course, easier in those circumstances when one strives to save one’s position in the eyes of one’s neighbors, to preserve one’s reputation;
Humility in the Church
Humility towards brothers and sisters within the community. Here, too, what is meant is not arrogant self-abasement, but unpretentious modesty, when a person behaves like an inferior, as if thereby asserting that he is before God.
Through humility of mind one esteems others as “higher than oneself” (Phil. 2:3).
This abiding in the truth, this “walking in the light, as He is in the light” is a condition for maintaining “communion with one another” (1 John 1:6-8; cf. Ps 43:3), therefore one should “gird up your loins” with the truth (Eph 6:14; Phil 4:8) and “seek” humility (Zeph 2:3; Col 3:12; 1 Pet 5:5).
Of course, the call to honor others as superior to oneself is also valid in relation to various churches, to Christians of other denominations;
Humility before one's neighbor
The same humility is necessary before our neighbors, before the world: truth is the fruit of light (Eph 5:9, see trans. NT edited by Bishop Cassian), and testimony before the world acquires credibility only when Christians are sincere with the outside world, They do not spare themselves and do not justify what deserves blame.
Recognition will be earned by that humility that does not hide behind pious formulas before neighbors, but exposes itself to God's judgment, which awakens faith in Christ;
Humility towards ourselves
Humility and sincerity towards ourselves: God Himself is true (Rev 6:10), and people, as His children, should avoid lies in any form - this is the key to all wisdom (Proverbs 11:2).
True humility is gained through the feat of redemption accomplished by Christ on the cross; those possessing such humility of mind renounce self-aggrandizement and self-praise (Rom. 3:23,27; Gal. 6:14).
Only from one who is “humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29) can one learn to love suffering and rejection (Phil. 3:10,18) and say: “And I will become even more humble, and become even more worthless in my eyes” (2 Sam. 6:22), i.e. as insignificant as a person is insignificant in reality.
There, at the cross, they learn gratitude for suffering: “It is good for me that I have suffered” (Ps 119:71,75).
There people understand that a person who is not subject to humiliation lives like a hypocrite: “Before I was afflicted I was mistaken” (Ps. 119:67) and that all their previous achievements were only appearances.
Christians should seek to be witnessed by truth itself and goodness itself (see Phil. 4:8; 1 John 5:20).
Christian humility is an Orthodox virtue
Humility in the Orthodox understanding is a quality that helps a person to rely not on personal experience, wisdom and knowledge, but encourages him to look at himself and others through the eyes of God.
Photo by Alina Shadrina
Very often we evaluate ourselves by our position in society, erudition, titles and regalia, or reviews of others. And the fact that we are disciples of Jesus Christ does not change much. Humility is easy to talk about. But being humble is not an easy task.
Stages and degrees of humility (accepting the inevitable)
Many people suffer from incurable diseases. This is a very serious test, including for a believer. American psychiatrist Elizabeth Ross created a technique for accepting the inevitable. She talks about 5 stages of this emotionally painful process:
- Negation. The person thinks that the doctors made a mistake and made an incorrect diagnosis.
- Anger. The patient looks for someone to blame and may vent his indignation at others or God.
- Bargaining is accepting the inevitable and trying to avoid death. Some go to extreme measures: agree to dubious treatment methods. Someone does illogical things: they go to church to pray for recovery, and at the same time turn to psychics and sorcerers.
- Depression. This is the most lengthy stage.
- Adoption. A person comes to terms with the inevitability of death, makes peace with his neighbors - and many with God - and finds pleasure in every day he lives.
Icon of the Mother of God Look at Humility
Look to Humility - this is a 19th century icon - a copy of an image from 1420 that arose on Kamenny Lake not far from Pskov. Before appearing in the Holy Vvedensky Monastery, the face was kept by Schema-nun Theodora for 55 years. In 1995, after reports of its healing abilities, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church recognized the icon as miraculous.
Icon of the Mother of God “Look at Humility”
What kind of people do we want to be: self-satisfied, cruel, proud people who do not know the pangs of conscience and the pain of compassion at the sight of the misfortunes of others, or humble, sensitive and loving people who do not seek honor, power and fame, but long to be good friends, spouses, parents and Christians? This is a personal choice on which our relationships with people and God depend, as well as the hope for eternity - an endless era when love and humility will rule.
Victor Glebov
Sin - what is it?
Prayer
Lord, give me Your humble spirit, so that I do not lose Your grace and not begin to weep for it, as Adam wept for paradise and God. Lord, You are Merciful; tell me what should I do in order for my soul to humble itself? Lord, grant us the gift of Your holy humility. Lord, grant us the presence of Your humble Holy Spirit, just as You came to save people and lift them up to heaven so that they may see Your glory. Most Holy Mother of God , ask , O Most Merciful , for us a humble spirit . All Saints, you live in heaven, and you see the glory of the Lord, and your spirit rejoices - pray that we too may be with you.
What is the power of humility
Only the humble can bring their talent to perfection. An athlete, a writer, a scientist or a preacher - whatever path a person chooses, he will learn from the best, work hard, seek guidance in order to achieve success.
Interesting fact
In S. D. Maheny's book, Humility: True Greatness, many of the most successful business leaders are remarkably humble. They do not see personal merit in the success of their business, realizing that they would not have achieved it without a team of professionals.
Our spiritual development is God's success strategy with an eternal perspective. But we can live forever if we become His perfect children.
One day Michelangelo saw a huge block of marble. Ordinary people saw in it only a shapeless stone, but the brilliant master created a magnificent statue of David from the block, which has delighted humanity for 500 years.
Head of David. Detail of the statue. The work of the outstanding Italian sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti 1501-1504. Marble. Height with pedestal 5.17 m. Accademia Gallery, Florence. The horizontal marble block, nicknamed the "giant" (il Gigante), remained abandoned in the courtyard of the cathedral workshop of l'Opera del Duomo for twenty-six years, all this time exposed to atmospheric precipitation. Until 25-year-old Michelangelo accepted the challenge. He turned to the trustees of the cathedral with a request to use the stone: “still, there is no benefit from it”... So a piece of marble became one of the pinnacles of the art of the Italian Renaissance. Work on the masterpiece lasted three years. The author was paid 400 florins for the creation of the statue.
God is the most outstanding sculptor. And we are hard, unyielding marble. But if we want, the Lord will create a spiritual masterpiece out of us. To do this we must defeat ourselves.
Submission - is it good?
Any person submits to someone or something. The Apostle Paul said this well:
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves to obey, you are also slaves to whom you obey, either slaves of sin to death, or slaves of obedience to righteousness?
(Rom.6:16)
Those who today behave arrogantly and preach independence from moral standards are slaves to immorality, which is ultimately promoted by Satan. But immorality does not bring satisfaction. On the contrary, it destroys body and soul, making a person a victim of disease, bad habits and other manifestations of selfishness that destroys our relationships with family, fellow believers and God.
Pride surrounds them like a necklace, and insolence dresses them like an outfit;
their eyes have rolled out of fat, thoughts are wandering in their hearts;
They mock everyone, viciously spread slander, talk down to them;
They raise their mouth to heaven, and their tongue walks across the earth.
Therefore His people turn thither, and drink a full cup of water,
and they say: “How will God know? and does the Most High have knowledge?”
And behold, these wicked prosper in this age, increasing wealth.
(Ps. 73:6-12)
