In my last post, we finally finished the series on the Commands of Yeshua. In this post, we will begin to explore the Godly characteristic of humility. For those that really know me, they are probably wondering why I would even begin to attempt this topic! I certainly don’t have much of a reputation for being humble.

Confessions of a Self-Centered Man

I have recently come out of my denial and now freely admit that most of my life has been spent as an extremely self-centered man. It’s all about me! My over-eating and anger issues are a primary function of my engrained self-centeredness.

I’m not proud of this at all. But, with the power of my Savior Yeshua and His indwelling Ruach, I know in my heart that I have embarked on a recovery journey to transform and renew my mind and my actions to incorporate the Godly character of humility into my walk with the Lord.

After reading my testimony on this blog, you may be wondering how I became so self-centered. You need look no closer than my given name ~ Donald. All my life, I have been told that my name means world ruler, leader and overcomer. Unfortunately, I bought into that, at least the leader and overcomer part. And it is true that one of my spiritual gifts is leadership.

But despite my self-centeredness, I have always thought of myself as a servant-leader. One of my favorite hymns, based on James 4:10, has been “Humble Thyself In The Sight of the Lord” by Bob Hudson. James writes, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” ^(NASB) Mr. Hudson wrote:

Humble Thyself In The Sight Of The Lord

Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord (echo)
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord (echo)
And He shall lift you up
Higher and higher and He
Shall lift you up.

So I will humble myself in the sight of the Lord (echo)
Humble myself in the sight of the Lord (echo)
And He shall lift me up
Higher and higher and He
Shall lift me up.

So I will humble myself in the sight of You, Lord (echo)
Humble myself in the sight of You, Lord (echo)
And You will lift me up
Higher and higher
And You will lift me up.

I bought into the servant-leadership style of Yeshua early in my own walk, especially at work and church. Sadly, I did not buy into it in my own home. There, I thought I had to be that ‘world ruler.’ It was my way or the highway. Trust me that didn’t work out well for me or my loved ones. In many respects, I’m still reaping what I sowed. I’ve had to make my amends and rebuild those relationships.

So, how is it that I came to blog on the topic of humility? At our church, I am on a team of people developing the curriculum for a disciple-making training program that will take a new believer along a pathway of becoming like Yeshua and eventually be able to replicate their own journey with other new believers; in short, making a disciple to become a discipler.

Since I knew that I needed to learn and live-out the characteristic of humility before I could ever train someone else, I volunteered to write that module. This series on humility is a result of my exploration of humility from the Word of God.

Humility Defined

Humility is a personal quality in which an individual shows dependence on God and respect for other persons. Various Bible translations use humble, meekness, gentleness, tender, mild, afflicted and considerate to describe the characteristic of humility.

In my next post, we will explore the concept of humility in the Tanakh.

Click here for PDF version.