“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
Humility is a gift—not an achievement.
Why?
It’s impossible for us to be truly humble—without God.
Humility is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children—yet it’s the one gift our flesh resists like none other! Pride makes us God’s enemy, not because God is harsh, but because pride puts us in direct opposition to Him. Scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) This is not a light warning. Any time pride or independence from God arises in us, we’re stepping onto the battlefield against God.
Pride places us on the losing side of history.
The trouble is that pride is sneaky. It rarely walks through the front door. It whispers. It hides. It disguises itself as confidence, discernment, righteousness, productivity, success, and…even ministry. Pride is so deceitful that the very moment we feel we have attained humility—we have lost it. We don’t attain it ourselves.
Humility isn’t an achievement—it is a daily discipline powered by the Holy Spirit in us.
Our flesh cannot produce humility. The carnal mind is “enmity against God” (Romans 8:7). The carnal mind turns everything back toward self—our needs, our image, our opinions, our justice, our accomplishment. The carnal mind cannot be humble because it cannot get over itself. It is obsessed with the preservation and elevation of self.
But Christ’s mind—the mind we receive at salvation—and the mind we can CHOOSE to USE by walking in the Spirit—is the opposite.
Unlike us, Jesus could choose humility because His very nature is love—perfect, self-giving, self-emptying love. Scripture tells us plainly, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5) And how did Jesus think? He chose the lowest place. He “made Himself of no reputation… and humbled Himself.” (Philippians 2:7–8) He didn’t act from self-interest because love DOES NOT HAVE self-interest. God’s Word says “God is love.”(1 John 4:8) Without God’s love filling us, we are incapable of hidden motives or subtle pride.
We don’t choose to be humble; we choose to make Jesus our center and HE enables us to be humble.
When we surrender every part of our life to God, His selfless love becomes the pattern of our daily thinking, and humility becomes not a performance—but the fruit of His life in us. The Beatitudes teach us the attitudes of humility—not as achievements but as spiritual postures we receive when we walk with Christ. For example:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit” means humility begins by recognizing we have nothing without God. (Matthew 5:3) Without Him, we are pridefully independent.
“Blessed are those who mourn” means that Christ in us brings us to a mindset to truly abhor the destructiveness of sin. (Matthew 5:4) Without His mind about sin; we are deceived by the pride of our own thoughts.
“Blessed are the meek” means that Christ’s mind enables us to not assert our “rights.” (Mathew 5:5) Without His mind, our pride deceives us into thinking our life, time and possessions are our own.
Each of the attitudes of Christ produce humility in our life. When we have His attitudes—we are under His control. This is “walking in the Spirit;” that is, daily and even hourly surrendering every part of our life to Him. He is the Creator of all good gifts—including one of the best—a humble spirit.
Christmas reminds us that God humbled Himself first. Christ entered the world not in power but in weakness—a baby laid in a manger—who offers us true freedom by releasing us from the exhausting burden of self. Freedom from image. Freedom from comparison. Freedom from defensiveness. Freedom from needing credit. Freedom from proving ourselves. Freedom from the tyranny of our carnal mind ruled by our wicked enemy!
When we make Jesus the center of all we think, speak, and do—He gives us the marvelous gift of a humble spirit.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for the gift of humility—the freedom that comes from thinking with Your mind instead of mine; and having Your attitudes instead of my own. Expose every hidden place where pride has taken root in me. Deliver me from the desire to be seen, applauded, or elevated. Teach me to be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, pure in heart, and hungry for righteousness. Let the same mind be in me that was in Christ Jesus, who made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself for my salvation. Give me Your quiet strength and multiply Your love in me so it’s impossible for me to not give it to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
