Humility Can Be Freeing

For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. - Isaiah 57:15

God says “I live with the humble.” Perhaps that’s because the humble aren’t holding on to their precious self-image (or anything else) - so there’s plenty of space around them for God to live.

There’s something remarkably freeing about humility. It ends up meaning that it doesn’t matter what others think of you. You can just be yourself. You don’t have to pretend to God or others or even to yourself.

Let’s talk with Jesus - the Humble One himself - about what it might look like to enjoy this freedom more. To inspire us in this conversation, here’s a thoughtful insight:

The humble are those who live in the fullness of this kingdom because they have nothing to prove. Their lives are found in God’s love. They have nothing to protect because they are not surprised by their own inconsistencies and contradictions. They have nothing to possess because they have been possessed by God’s love, which makes grasping and clinging unnecessary. It’s such a free life, unencumbered by the need to protect the idealized version we put forth.

- Rich Villodas, Good and Beautiful and Kind