September 27, 2026 · humility

Counting Others as More Important

Philippians 2:3

There's something curious about pride.

Almost nobody wakes up, looks in the mirror, and thinks:

"I am definitely a prideful person."

But we're pretty good at spotting it in other people.

We notice quickly when someone always needs to be right.

When a person doesn't know how to say sorry.

When someone turns any conversation into a chance to talk about their own accomplishments.

When another person gets recognition and, somehow, we feel the need to mention what we did too.

Pride takes many forms.

Sometimes it's obvious.

But other times it dresses up rather well.

It can look like confidence.

It can look like experience.

It can even hide behind phrases like:

"I'm just saying the truth."

And maybe the problem isn't always what we're saying.

Maybe it's that need to prove that we're right and the other person isn't.

That's why humility is so much easier to admire than to practice.

We love finding humble people.

The hard part is becoming one.

Philippians 2:3 says:

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."

That sounds simple until someone contradicts us.

Until someone else gets the recognition we wanted.

Until we have to say:

"I was wrong."

Until serving means doing something no one will notice.

That's where we find out how much we've actually learned about humility.

Humility Is Not Thinking Poorly of Yourself

Sometimes we confuse humility with putting ourselves down.

We think a humble person has to downplay everything they know how to do.

If someone says:

"That turned out really well."

They answer:

"No, not really, it was terrible."

If someone recognizes a talent, they immediately try to deny it.

But that's not necessarily humility.

Biblical humility doesn't mean thinking:

"I'm worth nothing."

It doesn't mean denying the gifts God gave us.

It doesn't mean pretending we're not good at something when we know we are.

And it doesn't mean allowing others to mistreat us either.

Philippians doesn't say:

"Think that everyone is better than you at absolutely everything."

It says:

"Esteem other better than themselves."

The emphasis isn't on putting ourselves down.

It's on no longer placing ourselves at the center.

Philippians 2:4 continues:

"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

That's where the idea comes into focus.

Humility asks:

"What does the other person need?"

"How can I help?"

"Do I have to win this argument?"

"Can I listen before I respond?"

"Do I need to get the credit?"

"Can I genuinely celebrate when someone else does well?"

Humility doesn't erase our worth.

It simply recognizes that others have worth too.

Pride Needs to Win

There's a fairly simple way to spot pride in ourselves:

Watch what happens when we're wrong.

Saying:

"I was wrong."

can be surprisingly hard.

Sometimes we'd rather give a fifteen-minute explanation than say those two words.

"Well, technically I wasn't wrong, because if you had understood what I actually meant..."

And suddenly we're building a legal defense to avoid admitting something fairly simple.

Pride needs to protect our image.

Humility can say:

"Yes. I was wrong."

"Forgive me."

"I didn't know that."

"You were right."

"I don't need to have the last word."

And those words don't make us small.

Many times they take far more strength than winning an argument.

Because admitting we're wrong means our worth no longer depends on looking perfect.

Christ Himself Is the Example

Paul doesn't leave humility as a theory.

A few verses later he tells us:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

And Philippians 2:6-8 goes on to describe Jesus:

"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant... And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

A few weeks ago we talked about a love that came first.

Here we see how that love was made visible.

Christ didn't just say he loved us.

He came down.

He served.

He humbled himself.

He gave himself up.

And he went all the way to the cross.

Christ's humility was not weakness.

Jesus didn't humble himself because he didn't know who he was.

Precisely because he knew who he was, he could serve without needing to prove anything.

And that teaches us something important.

We often think we need positions, titles, or recognition to prove our worth.

Christ did the opposite.

The one who had all authority took the form of a servant.

The one who deserved to be served chose to serve.

The one who could have claimed glory chose to give himself away.

True humility isn't born from not knowing our own worth.

It's born from being so secure in our identity in God that we no longer need to keep proving it.

Serving When No One Is Watching

Jesus said on another occasion that whoever wanted to be great must serve.

That runs completely against how we often measure greatness.

We look upward.

Position.

Influence.

Recognition.

Authority.

Christ looks downward.

The towel.

The water.

The disciples' feet.

The service.

And there an uncomfortable question arises:

Are we willing to do something good if no one finds out?

Because serving when everyone is watching can feed our pride.

Serving when no one knows it was us reveals something else.

Humility can clean up without waiting for anyone to say thank you.

It can help without announcing that it helped.

It can give up a place.

It can listen.

It can do the small, unnoticed work.

It can celebrate someone else's success without turning it into a competition.

And many times those things seem insignificant.

But that's exactly where character is formed.

Considering Others Changes Our Relationships

Imagine how much our homes would change if every person started the day thinking:

"How can I serve others today?"

Instead of:

"Why isn't anyone thinking about me?"

Imagine a marriage where both people try to outdo each other in serving instead of keeping score of who did more.

Imagine a church where no one needs the most important title.

Imagine a workplace where we can recognize a good idea even when it wasn't ours.

Imagine a conversation where we actually listen, instead of waiting for our turn to speak.

Many arguments don't keep going because the problem is impossible to solve.

They keep going because two people both need to win.

And sometimes humility can end an argument with a single sentence:

"Maybe you're right. Let me think about it."

That can cost us something.

But it can also save relationships.

God Gives Grace to the Humble

1 Peter 5:5-6 says:

"God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time."

James 4:6 repeats the same truth:

"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

That should catch our attention.

Pride isn't just an unpleasant trait.

It's a posture that puts us in opposition to God.

Why?

Because pride says:

"I can do it alone."

"I know."

"I decide."

"I'm right."

"I don't need correction."

Humility says:

"Lord, I need you."

"Teach me."

"Correct me."

"Maybe there's something I'm still not seeing."

"My way isn't always the best way."

And there, God promises grace.

Not because humility buys his favor.

But because a humble heart is willing to receive what God wants to give it.

"In Due Time"

There's another beautiful part in 1 Peter 5:6:

"That he may exalt you in due time."

That means we don't have to spend our lives trying to exalt ourselves.

We don't have to make sure everyone knows our accomplishments.

We don't have to fight desperately for recognition.

We don't have to push someone else down to rise ourselves.

We can serve.

We can be faithful.

We can do well with what God has placed in our hands.

And we can trust that God knows when and how to lift a person up.

Humility can wait.

Pride is in a hurry to prove itself.

Humility trusts that God sees.

There are things no one else will ever recognize.

But God does.

There are acts of service no one will applaud.

But God sees them.

There are times when we'll let someone else take the credit.

God knows.

And that can be enough.

Walking Humbly With God

Micah 6:8 says:

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Humility begins before God.

Before trying to be humble with others, we need to remember who we are before him.

Everything we have comes, in some way, from his grace.

Our gifts.

Our opportunities.

Our ability.

Our very lives.

That doesn't mean we don't work hard.

But even our capacity to work is a gift.

When we remember that, it becomes harder to look down on another person.

Because we can say:

"What I have doesn't make me superior. It makes me responsible."

Talent isn't a reason to boast.

It's a tool for serving.

Knowledge shouldn't make us arrogant.

It should let us help.

Position shouldn't increase our need to be served.

It should increase our responsibility to serve.

That's how Christ operated.

And that's how Christian character should look.

Where Do You Need to Choose Humility This Week?

Maybe we don't need to think of an extraordinary situation.

Perhaps this week humility will show up in something small.

Asking for forgiveness first.

Listening without interrupting.

Recognizing that someone else had a better idea.

Genuinely congratulating someone who got something you wanted.

Serving in something where no one will know your name.

Stepping out of the competition.

Accepting correction without immediately jumping to defend yourself.

Or simply saying:

"I was wrong."

Maybe there's a specific relationship where you constantly need to be right.

A conversation that stays stuck because neither of you wants to give in.

A person you're only looking at through what they can do for you.

This week, try changing the question.

Instead of:

"What should this person do for me?"

ask:

"How can I show this person the character of Christ?"

That doesn't mean becoming someone without boundaries.

It doesn't mean tolerating abuse.

It doesn't mean your opinion doesn't matter.

It means you no longer need to be at the center all the time.

The Greatness That Kneels

The world usually teaches us to climb.

Christ taught us to come down.

The world says:

"Make sure you get recognized."

Christ took the form of a servant.

The world says:

"Prove how much you're worth."

Christ knew exactly who he was, and still washed feet.

The world says:

"Fight to be first."

Christ taught us that the greatest one serves.

And maybe there we find one of the most beautiful paradoxes of faith:

Christ was exalted precisely after humbling himself.

Philippians 2 goes on to say that God also highly exalted him.

The cross wasn't the end.

Humility didn't end in defeat.

And we don't have to live thinking that serving makes us less either.

Humility doesn't diminish who we are.

It makes us look more like Christ.