Not long ago, I wrote about how “Humility Is Needed to See Jesus,” saying it’s the key to so many different aspects of the Christian life. But what does humility look like? Tim Challies compiled a list of “10 Sure Marks of Humility” from the book The Godly Man’s Picture, and here are four of them:
A humble person complains about his heart, not his circumstances. Even when he faces difficulty, his greatest grief is the state of his heart. Where a hypocrite loves to boast about his goodness, the humble soul is always aware of his badness. Even Paul, who had the immense privilege of being caught up to the third heaven, cried out, “Wretched man that I am!” The more a Christian grows in knowledge, the more he becomes aware of his ignorance, of his lack of faith, and the more he cries out for God’s grace.
A humble person praises God in times of trouble. He praises God even in times of great difficulty and refuses to condemn God for bringing such painful circumstances. With Abraham he says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” With Job, he always refuses to charge God with any wrongdoing, for it is the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away.
A humble person is content to be eclipsed by others. He is willing to have his name and his accomplishments eclipsed by others so that Christ can be magnified and God can be glorified. He deliberately does battle with the ugly sin of envy, saying often, “Let me decrease and let Christ increase.” A humble Christian is content to be put aside if another can take his place and bring greater glory to God.
A humble person will stoop to the lowest person and lowest tasks. He will give time to the lowest person and he will give attention to the most undesirable tasks. He prefers to swab the sores of Lazarus than to enjoy the treasures of the rich man. He does not insist that he is too noble or too holy for anyone or any task, but willingly “associates with the lowly” (Romans 12:16).
This is challenging, no? Read the rest here.