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| Spirit & Soul | ||||
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True Humility for False Humility
Many of us find great reward in teaching and encouraging the Body of Christ. Accepting compliments for this, however, presents its challenges. We often feel as if we are taking credit away from God when we acknowledge someone's appreciation for our teaching, sermon, or ministry. "After all," we ask ourselves, "isn't it He who works through us? Doesn't Isaiah 42:8 state that God does not give His glory to others?" Although we may think these questions reflect true humility, our resistance to compliments may actually discredit the gifts and abilities God has bestowed upon us for His use. Here's how to know the difference between true humilty and false humility... and still take a compliment.
Even as we become more spiritually equipped leaders, we will inevitably maintain a need for affirmation and appreciation. Acknowledging this need is important, but we must also remember not to rely on the words of people rather than the Word of God. First Thessalonians 5:11 reminds us that it is good to encourage, admonish, and exhort one another; for this edifies, strengthens, and builds us up. Accepting the affirmations we receive from others, however, must be done in a spirit of humility. True humility True humility does not require us to belittle ourselves or demean our accomplishments. Instead, it is having an accurate view of who we are in light of who God is. Beth Moore, author of Breaking Free (Broadman & Holman, 2000), explains humbling ourselves before God as
An accurate view of ourselves remembers that we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), and that He has equipped us with gifts to enable us to be effective in our leadership roles (Romans 12:6). These gifts are not to be used for our own benefit, but for the benefit of the Body of Christ. To belittle or fail to use our gifts is to debase or waste what God has provided, and ultimately detracts from His glory, much like the servant in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Do we truly believe that God has placed us in our leadership or ministry position? If we do, then we will not hesitate to honor Him with our gifts and abilities — while humbly accepting the appreciation that people have for them. Elisabeth Elliot, author of Discipline: The Glad Surrender (Revell, 1982), notes,
The fulfillment of our CALLED assignments often results in praise from others. We need to remember, however, that our abilities and effectiveness are the result of God’s gracious equipping. Our pride is not in ourselves, but in the One who has given us our assignment and enabled us to complete it. Our boasting, if any, is in the Lord alone (I Corinthians 1:31). False humility If pride is thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought, then false humility is nothing more than disguised pride — pride that deceives us as well as others (Obadiah 1:3). Of all the negative character qualities we painstakingly work to eliminate, pride is usually the last to go. And of all the character qualities we strive to nail down, the one that continually proves more elusive that any other is the quality of humility. T. S. Eliot was right when he said,
We know pride brings down individuals and ministries with equal ease (Proverbs 11:2), therefore we make it a practice to shun even the appearance of this sin. Many of us, however, spend our lives mastering the fine art of appearing humble while simultaneously seeking and reveling in the compliments that come our way. Then when we feel a twinge of pride at the possibility that we might be taking credit for what God has accomplished, we seek to cover it by being self-effacing. “Not me. I’m unworthy. Nothing I do is of value. God couldn’t possibly work through me.” Discrediting God’s work through us is not humility; it is dishonor and dishonesty. Sometimes our need to conceal shameful pride motivates our “self-effacing” false humility. Even private spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible study can be pursued with wrong motives. Beth Moore observes,
The irony is that if we could produce humility ourselves, then we would immediately become proud of our accomplishment. As J. Vernon McGee so aptly put it,
Discerning the difference So how do we know if we have true humility? Our priority should be to seek God’s glory rather than our own. Isaiah 26:8 tells us that God’s glory should be the desire of our hearts. II Corinthians 10:17 reminds us that
We do this by spending time in His presence, learning who He is by how He revealed Himself in His Word, and submitting to His Holy Spirit. How? Beth Moore suggests,
Teacher and preacher William Temple once wrote:
Our awareness of His presence should not be limited to times of prayer, or reading Scripture, or attending church. In all we say and do, whether in our private lives or in our public ministries, we should have a vivid awareness of the One we serve rather than of our own spiritual effectiveness. There are times when we are aware of becoming virtuous and godly, but this awareness should only be a stage we quickly pass through as we grow spiritually. If we stop at this stage, we will develop a sense of spiritual pride. The right thing to do with godly habits is to immerse them in the life of the Lord until they become such a spontaneous expression of our lives that we are no longer aware of them. Freedom to respond True humility enables us to accept compliments, not as a reflection of our own efforts, but as an affirmation that others are being helped and blessed by the work of God. It may happen that today He used us. Tomorrow He might very well work through someone else. True humility rejoices in either case, because no matter who He chooses to use, it’s not about us. The resulting freedom enables us to respond graciously, with a spirit that truly gives all the glory to God. May all our bouquets be a fragrant offering of praise to our Savior!
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