When asked in the early fourth century what three graces a minister needs most, Augustine (the 4^th Century Theologian who helped develop many of our theologies, like the Trinity) didn’t think twice before responding, “Humilitas; humilitas; humilitas.” When it came to the necessary graces for ministry, the great African bishop awarded humility with gold, silver, and bronze medals.

The more I grapple with the Scriptures and my own proud heart, the more I am convinced that Augustine was exactly right. But who am I to write about this subject, as though I am an authority on this subject?  (I am the guy who continually asks himself why he enjoys performing magic so much.  Is it because deep down I want people to say: “Wow!  Look what he can do!”? And I struggle with worthiness when ministry seems to succeed.) Once a person claims themselves to be an expert witness about humility, you can know they don’t possess much of it. So let me convey “what I’ve read,” a few “they say”s, and some Scripture. 

Humility is the most needful of virtues, not merely for Christian pastors, but for all people. But what is humility? Simply put, “it is the downward disposition of a Godward self-perception.” That is according to Christian author, Nick Thompson, and I happen to like it.  I also like how he unpacks his definition.   

Thompson explains that humility, first, is a downward disposition of the soul and qualifies it with these verses:

Proverbs 29:23 (ESV) 
²³  One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

Isaiah 57:15 (ESV) 
¹⁵  For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 

Pride will bring us low.  But if we are already low in spirit, God will revive our hearts.  (He will honor us.)  

THEY SAY (and Thompson affirms) that the humble heart is one that is not lifted up with the illusion of self-sufficiency and the aim of self-glory. Humility is an internal disposition directed downward toward the self.

I have (and maybe you have too) mistakenly confused humility with having a low view of ourself.  This manifests itself with draining feelings of incompetency, inferiority, and hypersensitivity.  But this is not the biblical understanding of humility. A low view of oneself is sometimes a manifestation of the same pride that fuels a high view of oneself. Whether our soul feels distraught with a low view of ourselves or delighted with a high view of ourselves, our problem could be the same, if we have a heart lifted up with self-consumption and the glory of man.

So, getting back to Nick Thompson’s assertion: “humility is the downward disposition of a Godward self-perception.”

We need to have a downward disposition which is produced by a Godward self-perception. The lowly spirit of humility is the reflex of seeing ourselves standing not before other people but before God. That is why the Scriptures inseparably bind humility and the fear of God together. Using synonymous parallelism, where two phrases express the same thought, Solomon writes:

Proverbs 15:33 (ESV) 
³³  The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 22:4 (ESV) 
⁴  The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. 

It is (ONLY) as our soul grows upward in fear toward God that we grow rooted downward in humility toward self. To fear God is to have a heart in the grip of His greatness and goodness. As we come to grasp His infinite greatness, we come to see ourselves in our finite creatureliness. As we reckon with His infinite goodness, we come to see ourselves in our fallen corruption. … … … - Or so “THEY SAY” (And I agree.) 

Humility is your great need, and it is mine too.  Read His Word.  Be smitten by His greatness …and your smallness!