John Ortberg said, “Your world becomes much bigger when you become appropriately smaller.” Perhaps that is why Paul urges us in Colossians 3:12, “…to clothe ourselves with humility.” You know what real humility is? Let me tell you first what humility is not. Humility is not thinking poorly of yourself or convincing yourself that you are unattractive, incompetent, or unworthy. Humility does not mean that you are not stand up for what you believe in or feeling proud of your accomplishments or your achievements. So what is humility? Humility is, in Martin Luther’s words, “the decision to let God be God.” Humility is recognizing your appropriate smallness. Humility is Paul’s saying, “Do no think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.” Humility is healthy self-forgetfulness. Humility is the recognition that the world does not revolve around me. Humility is giving to others more than you take from others. C.S. Lewis defines humility as, “…having painted the greatest picture in the world and be no happier in that fact than if your neighbor had painted it.” The happiest people I know are humble people, people who have a sense of their appropriate smallness, people who let God be God, people who live to serve, people who serve to live.
– Dr. Tim Thompson