Be Humble Day | Joy for Today

The JOY of the Lord is our strength! (Nehemiah 8:10) A choice to be humble takes great strength. So, it is a good thing that God offers you abundantly more than you can ever imagine! Let us trust in Him to help us lead and love in humility.

JOY for Today Offerings:

• Did You Know... One we did; four we never considered.
• Wolfe Stew Connects To the model of humility.
• Bible Verses and Quotes About humility.
• Activity Suggestions to practice and discuss humility.
• Last Year's Post: Presidents' Day (February's Third Monday)

Did You Know:

1. Humility is often considered a negative character trait? Commonly, people believe a humble person is self-degrading, insecure in their abilities, and lacks passion. Because of these misconceptions, workers who display humility are less likely to be promoted. Yet, in actuality, humility characterizes a person whose abundant confidence enables them to help others, allowing their actions to speak for them. (Forbes, Time, and Aleteia)
   
2. Humble people are better at relationships? Because of their willingness to help others, their relationships are stronger and last longer. Moreover, a humble leader is more likely to benefit from high employee retention rates and engagement. (Forbes and Time)
3. Humility makes decision making easier? For humble people, the rule is "put others first." Period. So, when making decisions, they error on the side of "good for the whole," rather than "best for me." What is more, they know that ultimately, they are not in charge of the universe. (Forbes and HuffPost)
4. Being humble makes you a better learner? Not only are you willing to admit when you do not know or that you made a mistake, when you are humble, you are willing to seek answers from others. (Forbes and Berkley)
5. Humility allows productive vulnerability? First, a humble person is willing to share because they do not have a need of projecting an image of perfection; they know they are prone to mistakes. Second, they listen. A humble person genuinely wants to hear what you have to say. They long to better understand you. Finally, because they are willing to share and listen well, others are willing to open up around a humble person. (Forbes)

We'd Love to Know:

Which of these facts most intrigues you?

Wolfe Stew Connects

How humble are you? I think answering that question is even a trap. As I began writing this post, I characterized myself among the humble. Then, this morning, I read a Spurgeon sermon titled, "The Shining of the Face of Moses," that reminded me I am not.

Humility is an often-misunderstood Biblical virtue. Many consider humility an attribute of the weak. Yet, scattered throughout the Bible, the reader finds myriad benefits and exhortations on humility. A sampling follows:

1. Consider the humble blessed, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
2. Consider others as better than ourselves. (Philippians 2:3 and Romans 12:10)
3. Humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from our wicked ways. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
4. Go and sit in the least important place. (Luke 14:10)
5. Humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift us up. (James 4:10)

These oft-quoted verses sound like simple platitudes, but let's see what they look like in action. Behold, the King of kings:

1. Lying in a manger. (Luke 2:12)
2. Washing the feet of His disciples. (John 13:14)
3. Praying earnestly for our unity in Him. (John 17:20-23) 
4. Stopping to talk, to heal, to see us. (John 4, Mark 10:46-52, and Luke 19:1-10)
5. Dying a criminal's death to procure us eternal togetherness with Him. (Philippians 2:5-11 & Colossians 1:13-20)

The portrait of humility seen in Jesus, the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), was accomplished through reliance on an inner JOY obtained through complete trust and faithfulness in His Father. Jesus did not seek joy by following the expectations of others, not by earning the approval of others, and not by thinking only of His own interests. The key to living a humble life is knowing true JOY comes from The Father, and only The Father. As you press on in a spirit of humility, allow the example set before us in Jesus to serve as your model: 

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
2. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31)

In response:

1. Choose one way to apply the model of Jesus' humility in your own life. Write out, or think through, one action you are willing to undertake. Then, do it out of love for your heavenly Father and know His JOY!
2. GROW in uplifting others through humility by joining us as we continue studying Proverbs 31:11. (Take a peek at our Wolfe Notes to see what we covered last week.) Or engage in last year's growth opportunity and learn to RISE to change.

Bible Verses and Quotes 

Bible Verses

• "You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That's why Scripture says, God opposes the proud, but he pours out grace on the humble." James 4:6 VOICE
• "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself." Philippians 2:3 TLB
• "The person who thinks he is important will find out how little he is worth. The person who is not trying to honor himself will be made important." Matthew 23:12 NLV
• "You must remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not." Deuteronomy 8:2 MEV
• "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that through His poverty you might be rich." 2 Corinthians 8:9 MEV

Quotes

• "As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you." - C.S. Lewis
• "True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less." - Rick Warren
• "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Ernest Hemingway
• "A humble person is more likely to be self-confident... a person with real humility knows how much they are loved." - Cornelius Plantinga
• “A great man is always willing to be little." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote best defines humility for you?

 

Activity Suggestions

Practice humility. Get a printable version at our TPT store.

The Mr.'s Suggestion:

Put others in front of yourself!

I think this suggestion is enough. In every choice you make today, choose the option that benefits another more than yourself. 

The Mrs.' Suggestions: 

Discuss "Would You Rather..." Questions

• Wash someone's feet or get your food last at every meal?
• Spend the night on the floor of a barn or awake all night praying for another person?
• Give all your possessions to the poor or leave your family and friends to follow Christ?

These questions are unique to this post. If you would like three "Would You Rather...?" questions for every February day, download this Wolfe Stew PowerPoint. 

Take on the Family Challenge

Talk about humility and what it means. Some definitions that have been helpful to me are:

• Uplifting others more than yourself in thoughts, words, and actions.
• Trusting God for validation and encouragement by choosing not to seek it on your own.
• Leaving the best for someone else by being satisfied with what you have.
• Being willing to learn from everyone and every circumstance. 
• Sacrificing your wants to show another their value. 

Discuss some examples of humility in action. Then, challenge each family member to record five ways they practiced humility throughout the week. At week's end, share the results of the challenge.

We'd Love to Know:

A way you have recently experienced humility.

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow. Come back next week for...Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

Your Partners in JOY Finding,

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.