Some people mistake low self esteem and other forms of false humility for true humbleness. We see such people in Scriptures, from the OT judge Gideon to OT King Saul. Some people think about God little but themselves often, berating themselves, and obsessively assuming others watch them and look down on them. These people are very aware of themselves, but they don’t realize their constant thoughts about themselves are actually a hidden form of pride.
How do we differentiate false humility and true humbleness? The Scriptures urge us to live in humility; for example James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Perhaps the best way to truly feel humble is to be aware of how intensely God loves us and thinks positively about us. He esteems us highly. When we realize what a delight we are to God, we do not become proud, but thankful and humble. This is the paradox of the Christian faith. The more we realize we are highly favored, the less prone we are to over-rate ourselves; we are more likely to love and serve others, with joy–not a spirit of obligation. Many people who grudgingly serve God and others act with hidden pride not true humility. These people think they have to slave for God, the way the Prodigal Son’s brother described his work for his father, “Look, all these years I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders,” (Luke 15:29.) Like the “good” brother, these people do not realize the joy of fully surrendering to God’s mercy
Our true joy comes from looking at how much God loves us and then trusting him to care for us. This joy and humility also comes when we do not take credit for our success but give God the glory and then allow him to choose our position instead of trying to force God to give us the life we want. Gideon did not truly understand this, and he clearly did not have a close walk of faith with the Lord. We do not see a deep love of God in his life. In Judges 16:8-10, a prophet of God explained to Gideon and the other Israelites why Midianites attacked them; Israel was worshipping the Amorites gods and disobeying God. Yet in verse 13, Gideon still demanded God explain why He allowed Israel to suffer. Gideon showed further lack of awareness of God in verse 17, when he did not even recognize it was the Lord speaking to him to urge him to go to battle with the Midianites who were attacking them. Early in Gideon’s life we realize he was not close to God, and we never see him growing close to God throughout his life.
Gideon appears humble in verse 15 when he says his clan is the least of Israel, and he is the least in his clan. But as we examine his life, we realize this was false humility, along with his lack of a close relationship with God. Instead of building an altar to God after his victory over the Midianite army, he took gold from the plunder of the battle with Midian, and he made an ephod which became an idol of worship. He did nothing to stop the Israelites from worshiping this ephod. Gideon claimed he did not want to become the King of Israel, but he lived like a king, taking many wives who bore him 70 sons. He also took a concubine who bore him a son, Abimelech, which means “My father is king.” Gideon began as a man who claimed he was the least, but in his later years, he lived like a man who expects too much. His pride lead to the downfall of his family, and later Abimelech killed 69 of his 70 sons.
King Saul also appeared humble when we first meet him in 1 Samuel chapter 9 as he interacts with Samuel who says that Saul is the focus of Israel’s hopes. In verse 21 Saul replied to Samuel, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?” When Samuel is ready to anoint Saul before all of Israel, Saul hid among the baggage when he was called forward (1Sam.10:22.) Some people mistake this for humility. It was not. Saul thought of himself often. In 1Sam.11:7, Saul does not say that Israel must fight for God to honor him but Saul uses his temper and says, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle.” In chapter 13 Saul performed a sacrifice, even though only a priest must make it. He excused his behavior by talking about his men, and not about honoring God. In chapter 14 he did not speak of God’s honor but said, “before I have full revenge on my enemies,” (verse 24.) In chapter 15:12, Saul made a monument in his own honor and not in God’s honor. In 15:24b Saul said, “I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.” Saul was concerned about what people thought of him and not concerned about what God wanted him to do.
In his pride Saul continued to disobey God. Saul never fully understood God’s grace, and he never pursued God’s grace and love. Saul did not admit his sin was the reason that God had stopped talking to him but instead went to see a witch to inquire of the Lord (chapter 28.) Saul acted upon his pride and human instincts. This makes me think of two key bible verses, Jude 18-19, “…scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.” and 1 John 2:16 “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” Saul followed his human instincts not the Spirit of God. He was prideful, and this lead to his downfall.
Unlike Saul, OT King David understood God and had a repentant heart (Psalm 51:17.) He also suffered from some pride and arrogance, and these did lead to disasters in his life. But he did turn back to God. David knew he came from humble beginnings as a shepherd whose father dismissed him to the point of not inviting David to join the other seven brothers at a sacrifice Samuel had invited the family to attend (1 Sam. Chapter 16.) Although David was supposed to receive one of Saul’s daughters in marriage in reward for his killing the giant Goliath, David felt so unworthy, Saul gave that daughter to another man (1 Sam. 18:18-19.) Furthermore, when Saul offered his younger daughter in marriage to David, he said, “How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?” (verse 23b) even though David had already killed Goliath which had been the price for the bride. David went on to fulfill another quest Saul required as the bride price for this other daughter, Michal.
Obviously David was not a perfect husband or father to his family, but he did seek God and returned to God when he fell. He listened when the prophet Nathan condemned David for killing an innocent man and then taking his wife, Bathsheba (2 Sam. Chapter 12.)
Much later a commoner, Shimei, cursed David, and he humbly replied, “If the Lord has told him to curse me who are you to stop him?” And even later, David accepted a rebuke from Joab. David acted foolishly in front of his loyal men, by sobbing in anguish for the son who tried to kill him and his men. Joab wisely told David that this made the men who had fought for him feel like they were worthless, and David wisely accepted the rebuke and thanked the men instead (chapter 19.) By his ongoing behavior, David showed he was willing to accept rebukes and change his behavior. David was receptive to what God wanted him to do and continued to correct wrong behavior, unlike Saul and Gideon.
David was responsive to the Holy Spirit, and he humbled himself before God. As a result, David also felt great joy in his relationship with God, which he expressed in the many Psalms he wrote. By understanding and accepting God’s forgiveness and mercy, David could truly feel content being humble.
But when people like King Saul, the Prodigal’s brother, and others like them, refuse to seek God’s mercy, they become arrogant. What originally looked like their humility proves to be their pride, temporarily inverted to look like humbleness. Their seemingly humble attitude hid the truth: that they were just looking at themselves, instead of considering God and all he had done for them.
Truly this is a paradox of our Christian faith. When we consider how small we are and then how great God is–if we accept our need for him–we feel wonderful. In true humility, we have joy and a high self esteem. Best of all, we do not obsess upon ourselves but feel interested in the welfare of others. True humility gives us the best self-esteem, because it is an esteem based upon the love of Jesus.
I pray we have blessed you with this week’s post. Please share your thoughts about this post with me, and may the Lord bless you this week!