Humility is an understanding that God alone deserves the credit for every good thing.¹ It is an attitude of servant-hood and obedience to God and others.² It is a key part of thankfulness and love, because it comes from the understanding that apart from God we can do nothing, and God alone deserves our honor and devotion.³ Just as pride is careful to show others what it has done, humility is careful to show others what God has done. One of the reasons we don’t need to seek our own glory is because God said, “those who honor me I will honor.”⁴

        It takes greater humility to deny greater amounts of honor and glory. The bible said Moses was the humblest person on earth, because he “was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in his words and deeds,” yet after God’s 40 year lesson in humility he knew his own inadequacy painfully well.⁵ The humblest person however is Jesus, who “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."⁶ No one deserved greater glory and honor than Jesus, yet he chose to seek his Fathers glory and serve others.⁷

        Humility is part of our sanctification, it is part of being conformed to the image of Christ.⁸ God often teaches us humility through humiliation.⁹ When we get injured or give up on something, or sin, we learn our own weakness and need for help.¹⁰ But after God shows us our inadequacy, we can expect him to also show us his power and grace by blessing us (assuming we humble ourselves as he teaches¹¹).¹²

        In summery humility is to understand our dependency on God, and that he alone deserves the glory. It can be painfully hard to learn humility, but without it we cannot properly love God or be thankful to him as we ought.

① James 1:17 / Daniel 5:20-22 / Colossians 1:17 / Acts 17:28 ② Philippians 2:3 / Romans 12:3 ③ Philippians 2:3-5 / 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 / John 15:5 ④ 1 Samuel 2:30 / John 17:1 / 1 Peter 5:6 / Numbers 12:1-15 ⑤ Numbers 12:3 / Acts 7:21–25 / Exodus 4:9–14 ⑥ Philippians 2:5-8 ⑦ John 8:49–50 ⑧ Romans 8:29 ⑨ 2 Chronicles 28:19 / Judges 16:5 / Deuteronomy 8:3 / Romans 12:2 ⑩ Acts 8:33 / James 4:6-10 / Daniel 5:20-22 ⑪ 2 Kings 22:19-20 / 2 Chronicles 33:12-13 ⑫ James 4:6 / John 17:1 / 1 Peter 5:6 / Job 42:11–13 / Genesis 41:51 / 2 Samuel 12:7-8