How does one know if one is humble or not?

[SongOnTheWind]

I know someone (won't name and shame, lol) who is constantly acting like they are the humblest, most sinless, most innocent person in the world, but I have seen them do CRAZY straight up ugly things to even his closest relatives. It can be straight up terrifying. Then he'll immediately act around me as if nothing had just happened. Like: WHAT???

Now I know I have issues, one of them being pride, but I am praying and trying to live better. Am I praying hard enough? Do I remember enough? Do I watch myself enough? Probably not, but I do strive by God's grace to improve daily. Even if I catch myself improving only slightly more than I had done yesterday, I'm grateful to God. I only said something today, instead of going straight to acting upon it. I only thought something today instead of saying it. That may be no big deal for others, but it's huge for me, so praise God!

What I am saying is that I know that I am no way near perfect, and I am certainly as humble as I could be, or as much as we are all called to be. But any small progress, and steady progress too: I see that as the hand of the Lord and His grace on my life.

So, again, from a person who acknowledges that they are not humble by God's standards in the slightest, how does one know that they are humble?

Is it when they can admit that they are wrong, or can admit that they are guilty of something, or they don't know as much as they thought? Is it more about preferring others and not thinking highly of themselves, or much of themselves at all?

P.S: let's not make this thread just about me, k? Lol. Let's make it about all of us. It's friendlier that way, and we'd have more of an open, honest, and fruitful discussion (You'd think that would be obvious to some, but...)

Also, just to clarify, I no longer engage with the crazy person I previously described, but I am praying for them (FROM AFAR). Am I being proud by calling them crazy? Or am I being honest about my thoughts?

Thoughts?

 

[Jeshu]

A humble heart knows that God deserves all the glory, even the glory of our good deeds, for all good comes from Him in the first place. Also when we still look at the sins of others, and judge them then for it, comparing ourselves with them, then we are not acting humbly and still have some way to go to dying to our ego.

The death of the ego heralds a humble heart.

 

[SongOnTheWind]

A humble heart knows that God deserves all the glory, even the glory of our good deeds, for all good comes from Him in the first place. Also when we still look at the sins of others, and judge them then for it, comparing ourselves with them, then we are not acting humbly and still have some way to go to dying to our ego.

The death of the ego heralds a humble heart.

Thank you, I really appreciate your speedy answer.

Question

If you see someone coming at you with a knife, and you know that they are intent on killing you, do you acknowledge their action or just focus on preferring them?

I guess what I am asking is am I judging the crazy person I was talking about by not hanging out with him anymore, because I saw his fruit? Am I saying I am better than him for not wanting to be around him anymore?

Would you stick around such a person as I described, preferring their whims and feelings over your own?

Where is the line, how far does it go before you cross it?

Thanks in advance

 

[Jeshu]

Where is the line, how far does it go before you cross it?

The best is to love sin to death - that is how God wants to deal with sin - as we can see Jesus Christ doing on the cross. Remember to turn the other cheek does not mean that we let them walk all over us but we forgive and love on for the sake of Christ. Who knows when our chance will come?

When a person begins to abuse or use us we cut off, but otherwise i believe it is worth standing by some one who is going wrong, never to join in, but because you know they will run into dead ends and get hurt. And then is your chance to share the love of God in receptive hearts.

Peace

 

[Eftsoon]

A truly humble person is able to celebrate the success of others completely selflessly, that is without a feeling of loss. The loss sounds something like: 'That could have been mine'. There are degrees of this obviously.

 

[Norbert L]

The modern expression virtue signaling comes to mind. Considering Luke 18:9 "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "

If a person finds difficultly within judging themselves, how capable are they at judging someone else? The way I see it, they might want to work on the former before getting involved with the latter.

 

[SongOnTheWind]

The modern expression virtue signaling comes to mind. Considering Luke 18:9 "He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "

If a person finds difficultly within judging themselves, how capable are they at judging someone else? The way I see it, they might want to work on the former before getting involved with the latter.

So if someone can't see the faults within themselves they cannot easily deal with those faults. That makes sense. It would also explain why some cannot readily admit to any general mistakes that we all make: no one knows everything, doesn't mean that no one can't know anything (I hope you get what I mean by that).

 

[SongOnTheWind]

The best is to love sin to death - that is how God wants to deal with sin - as we can see Jesus Christ doing on the cross. Remember to turn the other cheek does not mean that we let them walk all over us but we forgive and love on for the sake of Christ. Who knows when our chance will come?

When a person begins to abuse or use us we cut off, but otherwise i believe it is worth standing by some one who is going wrong, never to join in, but because you know they will run into dead ends and get hurt. And then is your chance to share the love of God in receptive hearts.

Peace

What do you mean by loving sin to death? I have never heard of this expression, can you please explain?

 

[Norbert L]

So if someone can't see the faults within themselves they cannot easily deal with those faults. That makes sense. It would also explain why some cannot readily admit to any general mistakes that we all make: no one knows everything, doesn't mean that no one can't know anything (I hope you get what I mean by that).

When it comes to the behavior of other Christians, there is one thing that can be known about how to settle disputes. Matthew 18:17

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."

 

[SongOnTheWind]

When it comes to the behavior of other Christians, there is one thing that can be known about how to settle disputes. Matthew 18:17

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."

Glory to God! You referencing this verse has actually helped me right this second find the solution to another matter entirely, but it is amazing that I can receive this in the time I needed it, so thank you!

 

[Jeshu]

What do you mean by loving sin to death? I have never heard of this expression, can you please explain?

Jesus taught us to love our enemies not to be the under dog but to heaps coals of fire on their heads loving them true. If someone does a dirty to you then such a person expects you to retaliate not pray for them and forgive them.

Sure at first, when they still hate us, they scorn us for loving our enemies, but in their hearts they will be convicted - time and again - by the holy Spirit.

So to love those who treat us badly with a sincere heart can harvest us someone's soul.

That is what i mean by loving sin to death. It is what Jesus did on the cross. He loved sin to death, He took it all along with Him and deposited it in hell, setting the captives free and raising the dead.

To love those who love us is easy, but to love those who treat us badly is hard but well worth the effort.

Ever hear of Corrie Ten Boom? She was a Dutch holocaust survivor who loved the Nazis who killed her sister and her dad in their death camps and brought many a hardened heart to Christ loving sin to death.

ttps://www.biography.com/activist/corrie-ten-boom

 

[Maria Billingsley]

I know someone (won't name and shame, lol) who is constantly acting like they are the humblest, most sinless, most innocent person in the world, but I have seen them do CRAZY straight up ugly things to even his closest relatives. It can be straight up terrifying. Then he'll immediately act around me as if nothing had just happened. Like: WHAT???

Now I know I have issues, one of them being pride, but I am praying and trying to live better. Am I praying hard enough? Do I remember enough? Do I watch myself enough? Probably not, but I do strive by God's grace to improve daily. Even if I catch myself improving only slightly more than I had done yesterday, I'm grateful to God. I only said something today, instead of going straight to acting upon it. I only thought something today instead of saying it. That may be no big deal for others, but it's huge for me, so praise God!

What I am saying is that I know that I am no way near perfect, and I am certainly as humble as I could be, or as much as we are all called to be. But any small progress, and steady progress too: I see that as the hand of the Lord and His grace on my life.

So, again, from a person who acknowledges that they are not humble by God's standards in the slightest, how does one know that they are humble?

Is it when they can admit that they are wrong, or can admit that they are guilty of something, or they don't know as much as they thought? Is it more about preferring others and not thinking highly of themselves, or much of themselves at all?

P.S: let's not make this thread just about me, k? Lol. Let's make it about all of us. It's friendlier that way, and we'd have more of an open, honest, and fruitful discussion (You'd think that would be obvious to some, but...)

Also, just to clarify, I no longer engage with the crazy person I previously described, but I am praying for them (FROM AFAR). Am I being proud by calling them crazy? Or am I being honest about my thoughts?

Thoughts?

I am not so sure anyone is able to self analyze. It is most likely the Holy Spirit who convicts us of bad behavior that quenches His work of humbleness in us. Interestingly, you are reaching out to others to confirm that your opinion of this person can be validated. It could be that the Holy Spirit is bringing you back to humbleness. We should check our fruits. Be blessed.

 

[SongOnTheWind]

I am not so sure anyone is able to self analyze. It is most likely the Holy Spirit who convicts us of bad behavior that quenches His work of humbleness in us. Interestingly, you are reaching out to others to confirm that your opinion of this person can be validated. It could be that the Holy Spirit is bringing you back to humbleness. We should check our fruits. Be blessed.

Hi

Again, I didn't want to make this about me, or promote myself as some shining example of humility. I am genuinely interested in the question, as pertaining to the human condition in the context of our relationship with Christ. I used the example of the person I know to highlight the aspects of humility I have questions about, not for anyone to judge him or me (although I see now that that was maybe too much to hope for) but I really am after honest discussion.

I do agree, we should all check our fruits. All of us.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Hi

Again, I didn't want to make this about me, or promote myself as some shining example of humility. I am genuinely interested in the question, as pertaining to the human condition in the context of our relationship with Christ. I used the example of the person I know to highlight the aspects of humility I have questions about, not for anyone to judge him or me (although I see now that that was maybe too much to hope for) but I really am after honest discussion.

I do agree, we should all check our fruits. All of us.

I am glad we agree on the fruits of the Holy Spirit as this is our guild towards righteousness.
Be blessed.

 

[SongOnTheWind]

Jesus taught us to love our enemies not to be the under dog but to heaps coals of fire on their heads loving them true. If someone does a dirty to you then such a person expects you to retaliate not pray for them and forgive them.

Sure at first, when they still hate us, they scorn us for loving our enemies, but in their hearts they will be convicted - time and again - by the holy Spirit.

So to love those who treat us badly with a sincere heart can harvest us someone's soul.

That is what i mean by loving sin to death. It is what Jesus did on the cross. He loved sin to death, He took it all along with Him and deposited it in hell, setting the captives free and raising the dead.

To love those who love us is easy, but to love those who treat us badly is hard but well worth the effort.

Ever hear of Corrie Ten Boom? She was a Dutch holocaust survivor who loved the Nazis who killed her sister and her dad in their death camps and brought many a hardened heart to Christ loving sin to death.

ttps://www.biography.com/activist/corrie-ten-boom

Thank you, I understand now.

Yes I have heard of Corrie Ten Boom's amazing testimony. She forgave so much ugliness, by God's grace. It really is inspiring.

I guess you understand something more once you have lived thought it. Practical experience is better than studied theory any day

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

A good start is to admit that you're not humble.

 

[SongOnTheWind]

A good start is to admit that you're not humble.

Agreed

Why do we, even as Christians, sometimes have difficulty doing this?

 

[com7fy8]

Being humble includes not being conceited.

And Jesus is the definition of this.

Even though Jesus is so superior to us and better than us humans, Jesus left Heaven itself in order to reach us and share with us, and Jesus suffered and died like He did, in order to save us so we can share eternity with Jesus.

So, this is how humble . . . un-conceited . . . Jesus is. And God's word tells us to also be loving and kind like Jesus on Calvary >

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2)

 

[Petros2015]

If you see someone coming at you with a knife, and you know that they are intent on killing you, do you acknowledge their action or just focus on preferring them?

...preferring them?

I'd suggest focusing on disarming, fleeing or disabling...!

As far as humility goes, always consider the possibility that you may be wrong especially when judging another. God knows the full scope of someone, I don't. I've found the times when I was 100% certain I was right, I was actually wrong. And the times when I was 100% judgmental? Almost always the wrong judgement.

Sometimes the best questions to ask when I am angry about someone or something (especially with any kind of 'righteous indignation' behind it) is 'ok - this trait makes me angry about this person... but God can you reveal to me in what ways I have this trait'? And I've gotten some pretty interesting answers about that. "first remove the beam from your eye then you will be able to see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye".

Funny thing is, beams are pretty hard to see. But God sees them.

Humility comes, I think from prayer and revelation of those things. And we realize if we were blind to them in ourselves, the other guy probably is too. And any good thing we have is by gift and Grace.

"Nobody ever got better by confessing the sins of another." We get better by confessing our own sins. And frankly, most of the time, it takes prayer to want to know what they are and revelation from God to begin to see them. God will give you His perspective if you ask though (has been my experience). And trust me, that can be humbling. But it's also done with Love, and it's healing too. And nothing has built my relationship with Him like those moments.

1) If you've got a strong opinion, always ask for a 2nd one from God, would be my motto.
2) If you've got a strong opinion about yourself, see #1
3) If you can't laugh at yourself, don't worry - others will do it for you

 

[SongOnTheWind]

...preferring them?

I'd suggest focusing on disarming, fleeing or disabling...!

As far as humility goes, always consider the possibility that you may be wrong especially when judging another. God knows the full scope of someone, I don't. I've found the times when I was 100% certain I was right, I was actually wrong. And the times when I was 100% judgmental? Almost always the wrong judgement.

Sometimes the best questions to ask when I am angry about someone or something (especially with any kind of 'righteous indignation' behind it) is 'ok - this trait makes me angry about this person... but God can you reveal to me in what ways I have this trait'? And I've gotten some pretty interesting answers about that. "first remove the beam from your eye then you will be able to see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye".

Funny thing is, beams are pretty hard to see. But God sees them.

Humility comes, I think from prayer and revelation of those things. And we realize if we were blind to them in ourselves, the other guy probably is too. And any good thing we have is by gift and Grace.

"Nobody ever got better by confessing the sins of another." We get better by confessing our own sins. And frankly, most of the time, it takes prayer to want to know what they are and revelation from God to begin to see them. God will give you His perspective if you ask though (has been my experience). And trust me, that can be humbling. But it's also done with Love, and it's healing too. And nothing has built my relationship with Him like those moments.

1) If you've got a strong opinion, always ask for a 2nd one from God, would be my motto.
2) If you've got a strong opinion about yourself, see #1
3) If you can't laugh at yourself, don't worry - others will do it for you

I like this
Thanks for your reply, makes total sense.