As humans we are utterly amazed when great people act in a way that can be perceived as humble. This just makes us respect them more. It’s almost as if we are saying to them, "You are even greater than I thought you were because you don’t act like you are the greatest." On the other hand, we almost demand humility from someone who does not have value according to the world.

Somehow we miss the reality of true humility. The main reason for this is that we don’t factor God into the value system we place on ourselves and others. When God comes on the scene, everything about humility comes into perspective. In Philippians 2:8 Paul describes Jesus Christ this way: And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Humility is the natural outpouring of a soul that is rightly related to God. The more you love God, the more humble you will become. Like Jesus, you will become quicker to radically obey whatever God asks of you. True humility is about your love for God, not the value placed on you from the world.

Have you noticed that most of the ways God asks us to serve Him are by serving others? He asks us to forgive as we have been forgiven. He asks us to give to the poor. He wants servants to serve their masters. He tells husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands. He says children should obey their parents. This is the kind of God we serve. He asks us to love Him by loving others.

On earth our relationships are based on degrees of love and favor. We seem to feel more loved by someone when they indicate that they love someone else less. God, who is the essence of humility, feels more loved by us when we love others in His name. Having an attitude of humility is more about seeing God for who He is than having ourselves in the right perspective. When we begin to take in how wonderful God is, we respond with a God-given humility and, like Jesus, we will follow Him anywhere and do whatever He asks of us. Humility is about being in relationship with God, not about how honored you are in this world.

As you ponder the humility of Jesus and the humility of God, how does that make you feel about the God that you serve? Does it humble you to think that He loves you so much? Does it motivate you to obey Him no matter what he asks? If it does, then I would say that you are understanding real humility.