“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6 (ESV) What a huge encouragement to know that we actually receive the favor of God when we are humble! This is one of God’s most prominent traits in the Bible and this verse is actually a quote from the Old Testament in Proverbs 3:34. The worldly approach to success is to promote oneself, defeat others, exalt our abilities, etc. But God wants us to humble ourselves so that it is God who is the supreme worker in our lives. If we cling to pride or boastfulness God actually opposes us. Instead, we should adopt an attitude of the heart that reflects who we are before God, which is the definition of humility. It is okay to describe our abilities but God wants us to do this with humility and only when necessary. And we shouldn’t confuse humility with self-rejection. But God wants to bless us if we are willing to be humble. Fortunately, we will have opportunities to learn humility for the rest of our lives!
