I recently overheard a conversation between two people discussing a particular world leader who had accomplished incredible things. The woman said, “He’s a good leader; but he would be great if he were more humble.” The man replied, “A world leader cannot be humble AND also be great.” My first thought was, “I wonder if he thought Jesus was great.”
But in his defense, this man’s mindset is common in our world’s culture. And of course, it is completely different from what Jesus taught. To the world, humility simply means weakness. But Jesus taught us that true greatness is impossible without humility.
In our study on the attitudes of Christ, we examined the first two Beatitudes—being poor in spirit and mourning over sin—both of which deal with our attitude toward God. We discovered that the more we recognize our absolute dependence on Him and the more we grieve sin’s destructive power—the deeper we are drawn into His presence. Jesus starts with this beatitude because a truly great life must be built on the right posture toward God. Then the very next Beatitude shifts to how we relate to others:
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
Meekness is not weakness. Jesus never lived a single cowardly moment, and He never calls His followers to be weaklings. The early believers endured persecution, imprisonment, torture, and death—and they faced it with a strength the world could not break. Born again believers are not called to be doormats. We are in a spiritual warfare and we are called to be warriors! But we must choose a side. That is why we must have the attitude of mourning sin that Jesus taught in the second beatitude. Jesus said:
“He who is not with Me is against Me.” Matthew 12:30
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16
A dove is gentle. A serpent is discerning. Meekness is the Spirit-led balance of love, wisdom, courage, and restraint. And it is ONLY God’s presence that produces it in us. We cannot produce it by self-flagellation or self-deprecation because that still involves “self.”
So what does “meekness” or “humility” mean?
The Greek word for “meek” is praus—and it doesn’t describe weakness at all. It means: power brought under God’s control. It is like having the strength of a powerful but trained stallion. He is no less strong than before he was trained; but now because he has been trained, he is submitted, useful, and steady rather than wild and destructive. To experience this power under control is quite a phenomenon. Allow me to share a story to illustrate.
The attorney I clerked for in law school had been a Vietnam pilot whose plane crashed into the ocean when the tailhook failed on an aircraft carrier during landing. He loved horses, but he was now paralyzed from the waist down, and could no longer ride. He owned an Arabian stallion named Karabe Del Ray. One day he asked if I would exercise him. I leapt at the chance. Every ride was electric—raw power, incredible speed, energy bursting beneath the saddle. But that strength would have been dangerous and uncontrollable if he had never been broken and trained. But here’s the thing: Even the fastest horse would never be allowed onto a racetrack unless he is first brought under discipline.
The speed and strength of the animal doesn’t disappear when it humbly submits to the master — it merely becomes focused and purposeful.
This is humility.
My friend, we are in a race against life and death for the souls of the people around us. Wild strength does not get us on the track and it certainly does not win the race!
As believers, we are in a spiritual battle for souls. We bear the standard of truth, against the forces of darkness. God has given us incredible power through His Spirit:
“and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…” Ephesians 1:19-20
Strength exercised under the power of our flesh only leads to pride, anger, division, and wasted battles. Humility, on the other hand, harnesses God-given power and places it under His authority so we can run the race instead of charging around wildly in our flesh. We cannot be humbled until we are first broken—until we see our spiritual poverty and grieve sin. It is then that God can shape us so His power flows through us instead of constantly fighting Him.
Humility does not weaken us; it channels God’s power through us.
Not only does humility make us powerful; it also redefines how we see our “rights.” When we submit fully to God, we stop clinging to our personal rights, which simply feed our ego and our pride. We care more about glorifying God than protecting our image. And when others insult us, criticize us, or mistreat us, meekness turns those moments into a testimony for Christ rather than a need for retaliation. A meek believer can endure injustice without bitterness—not because they are powerless, but because their strength is restrained for God’s purposes.
Spirit-led gentleness is not frailty; it is Spirit-forged courage under control.
“The fruit of the Spirit is… gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22–23
Humility does not diminish greatness; rather, it magnifies the glory of God. Furthermore, humility gives us confidence. Jesus — Creator and Sustainer of all things — humbled Himself for us. The meek walk through life confident not in themselves, but in Him. They inherit the earth because they view everything — even hardship, rejection, and injustice — through the lens of eternity.
The world says: “You cannot be humble and be great.”
Jesus says: “You cannot be great unless you are humble.”
And only those who learn humility ever enter the only race that truly matters.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, strip away our pride—every false confidence, every need to be right, every desire to be seen. We confess that left to ourselves, we exalt our own wisdom and forget our dependence on You. Teach us to see ourselves truthfully: created, needy, and completely sustained by Your grace. Give us the humility of Christ. Allow us to be willing to listen, quick to repent, slow to speak, and eager to serve in Your love. Help us to accept correction without defensiveness and to receive both success and suffering with gratitude. Remove the urge to compare ourselves to others, and replace it with a quiet confidence that rests in You alone. Shape our hearts to say, not “look at me,” but “look to You.” May our lives reflect obedience that flows from love, not pride, and strength that comes from surrender, not self-reliance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
