Oh Lord, It's Hard to be Humble

Numbers 12:3 Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Luke 14:8-10 When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him....But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored.

Do you remember that song by Mac Davis? It began like this:

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way.

I can't wait to look in the mirror cause I get better looking each day.

To know me is to love me I must be a hell of a man.

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble but I'm doing the best that I can.

Something tells me that Mac Davis was not singing this to our Lord, describing his struggle. Nor do I know if Davis felt bad about his lack of humility, if he was indeed singing about himself. I do remember seeing video of him singing this song, and I remember the smile on his face as he made light of the irony of pride in singing it. Either way, the words are a magnet to our flesh. How can we tell if we really are stuck in this mud?

Pride Vs. Confidence

First, let us not confuse pride with confidence. You need confidence as a leader, and the people you lead need to see that to believe in you and your vision. If they don't sense you are confident, they will not follow you anywhere but very safe places. However, God calls leaders to unsafe ventures that require faith in Him. Godly confidence comes from God repeatedly demonstrating His favor on our ventures when we proceed with faith and confidence in HIM.

Don't confuse humility with confide

An example of this is Gideon, a person whose faith was strengthened by his repeated experience of God's favor when He patiently delivered the signs that Gideon wanted. Imagine the level of confidence that it took to convince 300 men to battle against thousands. Gideon was a weak personally, but I suggest to you that he looked VERY CONFIDENT to those he led.

Friends, it is hard to be humble, and stay humble, especially if you are a leader, but it is not impossible. When it comes to humility, God does look favorably on two kinds of leaders:

1. Truly humble people like Moses, whose humility was part of his character.

2. People who struggle with pride, but through obedience, PRACTICE humility.

The Bible reference today states that Moses was the most humble person on earth. Yet he is the acknowledged author of the very book and chapter that states this. Was that a lie? Was he like Don King, the famous boxing promoter who once touted his own immense humility? I think not. In fact, Moses challenged Pharaoh by speaking the following words of the Lord.

"How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me” (Exodus 10:3 ESV)? He also exhorted his own people by saying, "And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God had led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you ...” (Deut. 8:2  ESV). 

Moses' humility was authentic even though he exhorted those without it.

Choosing Humility

If you are a leader who struggles with pride, or if you have a worker who you are leading who struggles with pride, you, like Moses, can help both your follower and yourself. Choose to practice humility yourself and help those you lead practice it too.

Jesus taught that one should choose the least important chair at the wedding feast. He didn’t teach us this because he wanted to demean those with pride. No, he taught this so that those who are prideful could experience the blessing and honor that would come from someone asking them to take the more honorable chair and position at the banquet. Christ wanted prideful people to experience the joy of what a humble heart receives by the PRACTICE of humility! Christ wants to honor our efforts, even if our hearts are not in it!  

Friends, the more significant you become, the harder it will be to be humble. Prepare for battle. Be humble, and when that is hard to do, practice humility.