Humility : True Greatness

Foreword by Joshua Harris

"Humility is a funny thing. On the one hand, it's an extremely desirable trait. Most of us, as Christians, would say we want to be humble, right? Or at least we want to be thought of as humble. At the same time, few of us have given attention to what being humble actually means. Even fewer have considered what it takes to grow in humility" (p.9).

"In place of true humility we learn certain words or phrases that we believe make us sound humble: 'Oh, really, it was nothing' or 'Anyone could have done it.' We cast our eyes down and shrug our shoulders or maybe even blush. Of course, we don't really mean it - inside we're congratulating ourselves for how humble we look and feel. We want that reputation but don't know how to get the reality. Like children playing dress-up in their parents' clothes, we're only acting humble; none of it really fits us" (p.9-10).

Harris shares an example of true humility through a story about the author, C.J. Mahaney. "For me, the best example of this kind of humility is..." (p.10). Mahaney groomed Harris to take of his senior pastor position that he had occupied for 27 years.

Harris wraps up the foreword with this statement, "What I love about Humility: True Greatness is that it takes our focus away from the human audience we're so often preoccupied with and reminds us of the one Observer, our only Sovereign and Savior, whose attention can be captured by a heart and life that displays genuine humility. I pray that, as you read, your desire for true greatness in God's eyes will increase and overflow in a life of true humility" (p.11).

Each chapter will be followed by a form where you can submit your answers to the reflection/discussion questions.

"If I met someone presuming to have something to say about humility, automatically I'd think him unqualified to speak on the subject" (p.13).

Mahaney does not claim to be an expert in humility. That would almost seem like a contradiction in terms. Certainly someone could not be proud of how humble they are, right? He labels himself "a proud man pursuing humility by the grace of God" (p.13). Mahaney acknowledges that his default attitude is pride, but by the grace of God he is pursuing and growing in humility.

"The structure of this book is simple and straightforward..." (p.14).

Mahaney gives us a quick overview of the structure of the book and what to expect.

1. Humility is our greatest friend and pride our greatest enemy.

2. Radically redefining success.

3. Practically crushing pride and cultivating humility in our daily life.

"I hope you'll take this journey with me," Mahaney says. The process of growing in humility is indeed a process and a lifelong journey.

As a character attribute, humility is generally well regarded in our world. People will admit that humility is a good quality and they appreciate it when they see it. Mahaney shares an example from Jim Collins' book "Good To Great". This book identifies humility as a chief attribute of some of the world's most successful CEO's and business leaders.

More importantly, however, humility is a quality loved by God. To show this, Mahaney points us to Isaiah 66:2,

This is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at My word.

"Humility gets God's attention," Mahaney says (p.19). "Here we find motivation and purpose rooted in this amazing fact: Humility draws the gaze of our Sovereign God."

James 4:6 also declares this promise: "God... gives grace to the humble." Mahaney says, "There's something you can do to attract more of God's gracious, undeserved, supernatural strength and assistance! ... Contrary to popular and false belief, it's not 'those who help themselves' whom God helps; it's those who humble themselves" (p.20-21).

"This is the promise of humility. God is personally and providentially supportive of the humble. And the grace He extends to the humble is indescribably rich. As Jonathan Edwards wrote, 'The pleasures of humility are really the most reined, inward, and exquisite delights in the world.' This book's purpose is to help position you to receive and experience those exquisite pleasures" (p.21).

What is Humility?

Mahaney helps us understand that our definition and our practice of humility cannot be merely practical, as Jim Collin's book might lead us to think. "Our definition of humility must be biblical and not simply pragmatic, and in order to be biblical it must begin with God" (p.21).

Based on a quote from John Calvin, Mahaney gives us this definition of humility:

Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness.

Essentially, true humility is cultivated not by looking to ourselves but by looking to God. Humility is a response to experiencing something, or Someone who is far greater than yourself. The pursuit of humility is the pursuit of a right view of God and thereby a right view of yourself.

Having a solid understanding of what humility truly is and where it truly comes from and the amazing promise from God to those who possess it is the substance of our pursuit of humility. This is what Mahaney desires for us to grasp. In the next chapter, he will help us understand the perils of our greatest enemy, pride.

Mahaney begins the chapter with a funny story about his complete ineptitude to solve a problem with his car. He uses the story to say how he, and all of us, are full of reasons to be humble. We are full of incompetence. "However," he says, "without a doubt I can assure you that both incompetence and pride are very evident in my life. In fact, we'll discover in this book how pride seems to have a strange and sure way of ignoring logic altogether. Can you relate?" (p.28).

"The real issue here is not if pride exists in your heart; it's where pride exists and how pride is being expressed in your life" (p.29).

So the focus of this chapter is "the great perils of pride" at it manifests itself in a multitude of ways in our life.

"Pride is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin," wrote John Stott. "I hate pride and arrogance," says Proverbs 8:13. "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished," says Proverbs 16:5.

The language of Scripture about the sin of pride is intense. "Stronger language for sin simply cannot be found in Scripture" (p.31).

Mahaney gives a definition for pride that is critical to grasp. He says:

Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him.

And, taking a quote from Charles Bridges, he says that pride's essence is:

Contending for supremacy with God, and lifting up our hearts against Him.