the most misunderstood character quality…

we are looking here on the front porch at what is love?. and it tells us in 1 corinthians 13.4 (tev) that love is not conceited or proud. so if you want to build authentic relationships, you’ve got to learn the characteristic of humility. love is humility.

humility may be the most misunderstood character quality that GOD ever invented. so before we begin looking at what it is, let me explain to you what humility is not. humility is not shyness. it’s not being timid or bashful. it’s not being a weak or spineless wimp. humility is not a lack of confidence. it’s not insecurity. humility is definitely not having a low opinion of yourself. JESUS was very humble and yet HE did not have a low opinion of himself. humility is not being a passive doormat. humility is not having poor self-esteem. humility is not putting yourself down all the time saying, “i’m no good. i’m nothing. i’m worthless. i’m junk.” JESUS never put himself down, and yet HE was the most humble person whoever lived. HE never degraded himself.

as we will see, humility takes enormous amounts of courage. humility takes self-confidence. it takes a high self-esteem. it takes a personal security. in fact, insecure people cannot be humble. they have a very hard time being humble. insecurity produces the exact opposite in our lives. it produces pride. whenever you find somebody who is arrogant, prideful, boastful, egotistical or self-concerned, you can know that they are masking deep insecurity.

insecurity causes us to brag. insecurity causes us to boast. insecurity causes us to exaggerate. it causes us to worry about what other people think of us. it is insecurity that causes us to be hypercritical and judgmental of other people. so rather than pride being a matter of confidence, humility – the exact opposite – is a matter of confidence. JESUS was able to be humble because HE knew exactly who HE was.

just a thought from the front porch…