Why Be Humble?
"Surely He scorns the scornful,
but gives grace to the humble."
Proverbs 3: 34
British science historian, James Burke, created
one of the most popular
documentary series in
BBC history called Connections. In the series, he
explained and demonstrated interconnectedness
between
scientific discoveries — how to have the
whole picture, one must connect the parts.
The same can be said
of humility. Aside from
it being a noble virtue, there's another reason
God honors it and opposes pride, its
opposite,
because Satan is full of pride, lacking humility
(1 Timothy 3:6).
Satan wanted to be like God; he was not content
with his assigned role from the Creator (Isaiah 14:
12-15). When God says that in James 4:6 that He
“resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble,”
it's not just so we'll have a more pleasing
character.
It's so we won’t be like the devil: “Therefore submit
to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you”
(James 4:7). Unlike
Satan, humble people submit
to God. When Satan sees our submission to God,
he flees from us.
Instead of being proud like Satan, be humble
like Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:6-8). Better to
be humble than to be humbled (Luke 14:7-11).
"The surest mark of true
conversion is humility."
J. C. Ryle