Merriam-Webster’ definition of meekness would be my best dictionary definition….

“the quality or state of being meek : a mild, moderate, humble, or submissive quality.”

This definition is quite close to the Biblical meaning of the word….

Meekness is quietness and gentleness of spirit. It is an inward gracing and temper of spirit that manifests physically. Meekness (gentleness/quietness) is part of the fruit of the Spirit….

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!“
Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NLT

It’s interesting to note that meekness is often listed or mentioned alongside humility in the Bible. Humility here meaning; the fear (reverence) of the Lord and the expression of God’s kind of love towards others.

We are admonished as disciples of Jesus Christ to exhibit the good virtue of meekness …

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
Colossians 3:12‭-‬14 NKJV

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love”
Ephesians 4:1‭-‬2 NKJV

Below is a quote from Vines about meekness…. I love it…

“Described negatively, meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all.”

So underlying meekness is selflessness. Selflessness is an attribute of humility. People who put themselves in the centre of everything struggle with selflessness, humility, agape and meekness.

Meekness and humility don’t just come naturally, no mere human is naturally all of these things. Jesus was described this way…

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:29 NKJV

“Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ— who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.”
II Corinthians 10:1 NKJV

And there lies the good news, if Jesus was all of these things and He lives in us, then we can be all of these things…Halleluyah!

1 Peter 3: 4 describes meekness as the ornament of the spirit…

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
I Peter 3:3‭-‬4 NKJV

“but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Peter 3:4 AMP

“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
1 Peter 3:3‭-‬4 NLT

Just as an aside, I believe every woman was created beautiful. A woman should look simple, smart and beautiful. However there’s an ‘exessiveness’ and busyness of looking beautiful that is absolutely distracting….both for men and women (selah).

A gentle and quiet spirit is attractive, even to God. And it manifests physically, even in our dressing……

One of the first things I heard God say to me was; ‘in quietness is your strength’……I love the woman on the cover page of Francine Rivers’ book, The Scarlet Thread…..

There is a seeming quietness around her, she looks really calm and peaceful. Arnold (my husband) says she must have worked really hard to be comfortably seated like that….Well, I am working hard!…..?.

Back in University days some of my colleagues nicknamed me ‘cool, calm, calculated’…., that’s how it seemed physically, but they were so wrong, …..if only they knew the wars I had within…. thank God for the Holy Spirit at work in us.

In meekness, we are more pliable to the Word of God; our spirit as led by God’s Spirit gains more dominance over our minds, emotions and intellect.

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.“
James 1:21 NKJV

And there is an abundance of peace for the meek…

“But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.“
Psalms 37:11 NKJV

There is a strong connection between humility and submission. Submission requires subordination, subjection, obedience, yielding which are all expressions of humility. To successfully submit to an authority, humility is needed. I believe that unlike humility which we are expected to express towards God and all men, submission is contextual.

The 2 drivers for expressing humility in our relationships; the fear of the Lord (relating to God) and walking in agape (relating with others).

Background

Humility is often misunderstood. If someone asked you a direct question; say, ‘Elyse, are you humble?‘ what would your response be? Yes/No/Not Sure/I think so/ etc…. 🙂 Now that is something to consider….

Early this year, I said to one of my ‘elders’ … ‘I admire your humility, that is something I’ll be learning from you this year‘.

Honestly, that sounded really good to me, but even as I said it, I wasn’t really sure what it meant. Truth? there were aspects of this person’s life that one may not really judge as ‘humble’.

So here I am, desiring to learn humility and yet not fully understanding what humility truly means…

Hey, it’s Friday!!!

Welcome to a brand new study series on my blog; Bible Perspectives on Humility. I trust God that this series will be refreshing, exciting, instructive, …and humbling.

Study Scope

In this study series, among other things we will look at;

Definitions of humility (dictionary and biblical), false humility, relationship between humility and obedience, who to be humble to, benefits of being humble, results of prideful living.

Introduction

Humility is a virtue every Christian should strive for. Three immediate benefits of combining humility with the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and a long life (Proverbs 2:24).

“True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.” Proverbs 22:4. NLT

In Mathew 11:29 Jesus admonishes us to be lowly in heart, just as He is. According to Jesus, this manner of living will helps keep our soul at rest (….I will think that is because you do not have anything to prove to anyone).

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 NKJV

A lowly person is someone who is humble in manner and spirit. This suggests that humility is more of the state of the mind more than an outward demeanor.

In Philippians 2:5, Paul, citing Jesus as an example shows that humility when done properly, does lead to elevation or exaltation.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

So, humility is a noble trait, as having a lowly estimation of oneself leads to elevation, exaltation, riches, honor and long life.

I already love humility! But what exactly is it?

What Is Humility?

Dictionary Definition of humility

Humility is the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance. It is meekness, lowliness and absence of self. Humble people appreciate little things, they respect others and are open to other viewpoints and ideas, they keep their success, accomplishments and achievements in perspective, they acknowledge their mistakes and limitations, they take responsibility for their actions, they listen more and talk less, they do not go around saying they are humble.

Some synonyms for humility are; modesty, meekness, lowliness, submissiveness, diffidence.

Some antonyms for humility include; pride, self-importance, arrogance, haughtiness, etc

So, what do you think? How do you score based on this dictionary definition of humility? Poor/Fair/Good/Excellent? 🙂

One important thing to clarify at this point is that having a low view of oneself should never be interpreted as being a pauper, a beggar, an unimportant or irrelevant person. To humble oneself does not mean to have low self esteem neither does it mean to suffer from rejection or insecurity. There is liberty/freedom where the Spirit of The Lord is.

Every child of God has been bought by the precious priceless blood of Jesus Christ, and as such is royalty, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own ‘peculiar people’. You are like a Lamp on a Lampstand.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
I Peter 2:9 NKJV

Humility is a state of the mind, and not just an outward demeanor. Someone can be outwardly humble and yet arrogant and prideful in their thoughts and actions as shown by their decisions and choices.

It is also important to note that this dictionary definition of humility essentially focuses on a view of oneself relative to others. And depending on how you look at it, this definition may seem somewhat tilted more towards describing a group of persons with some form of real or perceived achievement, accomplishment, worth, value, etc, who inspite of that, are humble (…just an observation).

Question: Can a poor person be arrogant? Can an uneducated person be prideful? Can someone without any significant worth, talent or achievement (by the world’s standard and ranking) be arrogant?

I leave you with these thoughts. In the next part, we consider Bible meanings of humility.