This article is the third in a series of articles on core values for churches and Christians. You can access the articles in this series by visiting http://www.webbweekly.com.

Humility is our next core value. At our church, we refer to it as the central, selfless, and slippery core value. Let’s talk about it.
Arrogance

The antonym of humility is arrogance, defined as feeling or showing self-importance and contempt or disregard of others. Other words we use are conceited, haughty, egotistical, superior, condescending, uppity, snobbish, stuck-up, proud, and holier-than-thou.

Arrogance is a universal vulnerability. It is a disease that can infect the heart of anyone—rich and poor, powerful and weak, beautiful and homely, young and old, believer and unbeliever. The religious can be especially vulnerable to arrogance. You can read what Jesus had to say about religious arrogance in Matthew 23. Think hypocrite.

Arrogance is terminal—it kills all relationships. The fool discovers too late that arrogance has no friends and no God—it only has leeches and ghosts.

Arrogance believes it doesn’t need God. It is an attitude God detests.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will attain honor. Proverbs 29:23

But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. James 4:16

In his pride, the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts, there is no room for God. Psalm 10:4

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Isaiah 5:21

The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ Psalm 14:1
Central

Humility is the central core value because it must displace the arrogance that dwells at the very center of the human heart.

God created us in His image, and we are so close to being like Him that we mistakenly believe we are like Him – or worse – that we are Him. See Genesis 3:5. Thinking too highly of ourselves is the root cause of arrogance.

Humility is the only way to displace the central problem of arrogance. To displace arrogance with humility, remember these things:

1. Everything, yes, every heartbeat, breath, ability, and resource you have and enjoy is a gift from God. Gratitude displaces arrogance.

2. Every person, yes, every person, is made in the image of God and is loved deeply by God. Love displaces arrogance. See 1 John 4:7-21.

3. You, yes, you, fall short of the glory of God. Confession displaces arrogance. See Romans 3:23, Matthew 7:5, I John 1:9, James 5:16.

Selfless

Philippians 2 is a powerful call to imitate the humility of Jesus. Such humility is a paradox. It causes people to believe we must think less of ourselves—that humility is self-debasement or self-deprecation. Quite to the contrary, genuine humility rises out of deep and secure self-knowledge. It is being so sure of who you are and Whose you are, that you have no need to prove yourself to anyone else. You are a child of God! See John 1:12. You are a new creation! See II Corinthians 5:17. You are no longer condemned by sin! See Romans 8:1 and 14-17. You are a co-heir with Jesus Christ! Do you fully recognize who you are in Christ Jesus?

Jesus knew He was God – He had no need to prove it. That secure knowledge set Him free to take the lowest place as He demonstrated His love for us. Arrogant people have something to prove, and it is an awful burden to carry. And I do mean awful. A crazy amount of time, energy, and money are squandered every day by people trying to prove their value to others. It never works.

On the other hand, the person who is secure in the knowledge of who they are is free to love and serve and give whole-heartedly. They are free indeed! Jesus said in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

C.S. Lewis described humility as “Not thinking less of yourself, but rather thinking of yourself less.” When you know who you are in Christ, you are free to think of others and to raise them up. This is the beautiful freedom of humility.
Slippery

Be careful. About the time you think you’ve gained humility – you’ve just lost it. Humility is a bit like a greased pig or a wet bar of soap—the harder you try to possess it, the more likely it is to slip from your hands.

False humility is camouflage used to hide arrogance. It puts off a rather confusing odor. There is an initial sweetness to it, but it is followed by an off-putting scent that causes further inspection—and reveals perfume poured over rot and maggots. You can fake humility and succeed at fooling yourself, but you’ll never fool people or God. Arrogance just stinks too much.

Humility can’t be caught. To gain it, we must displace arrogance. Our only hope is to walk quietly in gratitude, love, and confession. As we let go of the burden to prove our worth, humility will displace arrogance as it takes up residence in our heart.

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last and the servant of all.” Jesus, Mark 9:35