How valuable are you? What are you worth to God? Tough, awkward questions, right? We tend to think that humility is all about considering ourselves to be worth less than we are, or less valuable than we are when this is actually just an alternative pathway to pride. Here’s a better way to think about it…
Humility isn't thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less. The humility-pride struggle is really about focus, not worth or value. Paul put it this way,
Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
- Romans 12:3 (NLT)
Let’s break that down. Thinking we are better than we, refusing to admit fault, weakness, and sin, is pride. But the alternative isn't thinking worse about ourselves, it’s thinking honestly about ourselves. And the only way to think honestly about ourselves is to evaluate ourselves based on God’s truth. So Paul gives us an evaluation tool… “measuring yourselves” not against the neighbors’ wealth, the fashion world’s image of beauty, or the corporate world’s definition of success. But measuring ourselves by the faith God has given us. His truth is the measuring stick.
The Bible is clear that God knows you, loves you, sees your sin, is willing to give His Son’s life to pay the price to redeem you and call you His very own child and give you an inheritance in heaven! Your worth and value are immeasurable, priceless, limitless!
So realize that thinking you’re better than you are is pride. Focusing on yourself, positively or negatively, can quickly lead to pride as well. But seeing yourself as God sees and defines you is the pathway to real humility in which our ego is in check and we rise with confidence to know God and make Him known to others.
