Humility is not timidity
Humility is a great attribute that manifests by considering others greater than ourselves and yet feeling confident in Christ. But a cruel wolf with sheep clothing has been deceiving the children of God to think being timid is to be humble. Timidity that makes one submissive and easily compromised looks like humility but is actually a huge abyss. Many Christians have bought this lie and are in highest quotient of self-deception trying to please the world due to fear of identity loss. Does the word of God suggest us to be timid? No. The word of God insists us to remove every form of timidity – lack of courage, fear, panic, worry and discouragement.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
To make it clearer we’ll deal with an example. Consider a person who has always been timid some of the following may prove to be true in their lives,
- This person will not step out to accept his own mistakes as he is afraid of losing the reputation.
- This person will not take any steps to openly speak up an issue with right words with right attitude but chose to be tormented as he is afraid of losing people.
- This person will not be proactive in finding a solution when there is a problem but will run away from problems and stay in a comfy cat bed.
- This person will not try new things but will beat around the same old bush.
- This person will not correct others at the right time with kind words but will let them continue in their mistakes and watch them suffer.
Can humility and courage stay together?
Jesus Christ the very incarnation of humility has always been courageous. He humbled himself and came down to our level as a humble carpenter’s son who rested on the stable as an infant, obeyed his earthy father as he grew up and as a youngster Jesus humbled himself till death and obeyed the heavenly father shedding every drop of blood.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross! Philippians 2:8
This humble man was the most courageous of all. He courageously faced the chauvinism of the Pharisees, hypocrisy of the Sadducees and the fickle minded Pilate.
When Daniel humbled himself to intercede for Israel he was commanded to be courageous, as it was very important for a humble man to be courageous.
Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. Daniel 10:12
Well, I’m not saying we become a road-rash and start spurring out all the words in a full throttle that makes our courage meaningless. Remember? A knife can take a life or cut vegetables to serve a life. God wants us to add courage to humility so that we can be a blessing!
- With humility and courage, we’ll be able to say the right words at the right time with the right tone.
- With humility and courage, we’ll be able to do the right thing at the right time with the right attitude.
- With humility and courage, we’ll be able to make the right decision at the right time with the right stand.
Why should I be courageous to be truly humble?
Humility comes with a lot of blessings but to reach those blessings a lot of hardships have to be faced in the journey, the below are a few.
Stampede: Humble people will be easily ridiculed and stamped upon. Dominant people use them as doormats and ladders to climb up in life. After facing such stampede many quit being humble and become arrogant. So it takes a lot of courage to stay the same and be gentle to others in love.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2
Underestimated: We live in an era where a product sells best for the quality of the advertisement rather than the quality of the product. People who are pompous (self seekers) in nature and who frequently show off by the way they speak, dress and post in social networks are easily sold out and a lot of people look at them in awe with their eyebrows up. Due to this, humble people who are not show-boats are underestimated and never get the lime light. So it takes a lot of courage to happily live a modest life and earnestly wait for the Lord to lift them up.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10
Loss of dominion: As considering others greater than ourselves is the key to humility, humble people will prioritize others more than themselves. This leads to others looking down on the humble and they are dominated and dictated leading to less dominion over decisions, especially if this happens in a family, that family comes to shambles in few months. When we lose dominion over our decisions there are chances for us to go in worldly sinful ways and compromise the ’Call’ we have in Christ. So it takes a lot of courage to take the stand in staying convicted about the decisions we make in terms of our faith and not to get compromised in doing what pleases God.
The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. Proverbs 11:1
Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. Jeremiah 15:19c
Question to ponder: What will you do if you were are asked to bribe to get some documents cleared and your boss is saying unless you get the document cleared some way you will not be promoted? Will u say, “I’m humble so I’ll submit to my boss as I consider him greater than myself“ or stay strong and politely decline?