HUMILITY
What
is humility?
The Greek
word used in Colossians 3 is a combination of two words that together mean “a
humiliation or lowliness of mind.” A humble person has a modest opinion of himself,
viewing himself as small before God and small before men. He understands that
whatever he is and whatever he has is only because of God’s grace. He also
recognizes and rejoices in the strengths and talents of others. He submits to
those over him and is courteous and yielding to those under him. He is
concerned for the welfare of others, and is willing to lay down his own desires
for the benefit of others. Biblical humility is
not a belittling of oneself
What
does the Bible say about humility?
“For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became
poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
(2
Corinthians 8:9)
What
did Jesus do for our sakes?
“But Jesus called them to
Him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the
Gentiles
lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
It
shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the
Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many.’" (Matthew 20:25-28)
Who
will be great? What will happen to the person who tries to be first? Did
Jesus
came to be served? Did He deserve to be served? If Jesus, God’s Son, was
willing to serve, shouldn’t we, God’s creatures, be eager and willing to serve?
“Likewise, you who are
younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility
toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of
God
so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” (1 Peter 5:5-6)
Who
are we supposed to submit to? What are we supposed to be clothed with?
What
does God do with the proud? What does He give the humble? So what should we do?
“…submitting to one another
out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)
What
should our attitude be toward others? Why?
“Live in harmony with one
another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited.”
(Romans 12:16)
How
should we live with each other? With whom should we associate?
Who
in the Bible was humble?
The tax collector. Luke 18:9-14
What
kind of people did Jesus tell this story to? What did the Pharisee say when he
prayed? Was he humble? What did the tax collector say when he prayed? Was he
humble? What happens to the person who exalts himself?
What
happens to the person who humbles himself?
The Roman centurion. Matthew 8:5-13
What
is a centurion? Who is he telling Jesus about? What does Jesus say He will do?
Does the centurion want Jesus to come to his home? Why? What does Jesus say
about the centurion’s faith? What happened to the servant?
The woman who washed
Jesus’ feet. Luke 7:36-50
Where
was Jesus eating? Who came in with a flask of perfume? What did she do with it?
Why do you think she was crying? What did the Pharisee think about this? What
story did Jesus tell the Pharisee? Which person in Jesus’ story would love the
moneylender more? What had the woman done for Jesus that the Pharisee, his
host, had not done for Him? What did Jesus do for the woman?
Jesus.
John
13:1-17. What does verse 2 say Jesus knew about Himself? What did He do, even
though He knew this? What did Jesus tell His disciples they should do, if He
was willing to wash their feet? What should we do if Jesus was willing to die
for us?
Philippians
2:5-11. What did Jesus do, even though He was God? How did He humble himself?
What did God do after Jesus died on the cross? Who bows to Jesus now?
(COMPILED BY SOBORI K FRANCIS)
