Practicing Humility

By Pamela Rose Williams

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10)

Humility! I think perhaps practicing humility is the most difficult of all the things that the Lord admonishes us to do.  Of course the opposite of humility is pride.  Pride is easy.  The Bible says: (Proverbs 8:13)  The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. And we know that there is much more that the Scriptures have to say about pride. Pride is to be hated.

Today’s verse is sandwiched between some others.  Take a look at it in context:

(James 4:7-11)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. [9] Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. [10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. [11] Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

That little verse 10 comes in the middle of some encouragement from James on what we say and how we say it.  James is telling the reader to resist the devil and draw close to God. James continues and finishes the passage encouraging the reader to “speak NOT evil one of another”. Speaking evil of someone else leads to an haughty spirit.  The Old English word “haughty” can best be defined as showing arrogant superiority.  Being prideful and NOT practicing humility leads to arrogance and disdain of those that the prideful one views as unworthy. When we are prideful we fall.  When we are humble the Lord lifts us up.  It takes no practice to be prideful; it comes naturally.  Practicing humility is what we, as children of God, are called to do.

(Proverbs 16:18)  Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

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