How To Be The Most Humble Person in the World!

If you’re already thinking, “that title makes no sense,” you’re right! Bonus points if you internally labeled it a “performative contradiction” (when the act of making the statement contradicts its content). A truly humble person would never claim to be the most humble. Weird Al Yankovic nails this paradox in his parody song “Amish Paradise” when he sings, “I’m about a million times as humble as thou art!” 

Our quest to grow in humility can seem to be at odds with being more confident, knowledgeable and impactful. So what is humility? I like what Rick Warren had to say on the subject: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” So can we be bold, confident and humble all at the same time? James 3:13 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”  

I thought about the “meekness of wisdom” for a while after reading it this morning. Years ago I had agreed with the Greek definition that Christ’s meekness was not weakness or passivity, it was “power under control.” But how is wisdom meek? Since I didn’t have all day to ponder this and seemed to lack the wisdom to fully grasp it, I cheated and looked up some commentaries. (As Proverbs 4:7 reminds us, “the beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.”) I would summarize my exploration by saying that true wisdom is from God and already contains an expression of the relationship between God and the recipient. The person is strengthened by it and is not only disinterested in and incapable of being prideful about this possession, but is then compelled to express it…to do something with it that honors God. The testimony of our hands is often more openly received than the testimony of our mouths. As Charles Spurgeon says, “Men may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.”  

I have the honor and privilege of working with brilliant, driven people who aren’t reading their own news clips, who don’t ingest praise and who rarely if ever lose their humble perspective when things are going well.  

The mistake many tend to make (including myself) is to “think less of themselves.” That’s not being humble, it’s actually self-centered. Why? Because you’re thinking of yourself the whole time and choosing your own evaluation over God’s. God made us in His image and disparaging that image is not only unhelpful but limiting and dangerous. In his wonderful book “Keep Telling Yourself,” Chad Sanshagrin observes, “every self-deprecating thought is another stone on the pile of obstacles that blocks your way forward.” 

For those of us who struggle with feeling we’re not “good enough,” the reminder that it’s not really about us is helpful. It’s about Him. By the wonderful mercy and grace of God, we get to participate in the Kingdom. When we humble ourselves by reflecting on how God made us and chose us, we can walk with Christ, receive the meekness of wisdom through the Spirit. and then desire nothing more than to put that wisdom into action. 

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