Maybe Humility Does Not Mean Hating Yourself

Many of us have thought being humble meant denying all of our desires, never expressing our needs or wants, or even hating ourselves. We thought that trying to make ourselves feel worthless was a path to humility. Many churches have taught this, insisting that we always need to pronounce our unworthiness and wretchedness.

And yet the scriptures have a different approach. They teach a form of self-denial that means not only discarding our false self BUT ALSO loving our true self. Listen to how Jesus and Paul teach this subtle difference:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. - Mark 12:31

Let each of you look not only to your own interest but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:4

Apparently it’s healthy to love ourselves - that’s assumed in Jesus’s teaching above! And apparently it’s healthy to look out after your own interests - that’s assumed in Paul’s teachings. Of course, both call for a radical, even sacrificial love of others - but they don’t base it on making ourselves feel worthless.

How does this challenge your understanding of humility? What do you want to talk with Jesus about now?