Humility Toward Self

 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.

Philippians 3:7

Not long ago, I wrote on humility being the chief Christian virtue and the fountain head of all the virtues.  I made my argument from the book of Philippians in which Paul uses Christ’s humble obedience at the cross as the supreme example of an attitude and action of sacrificial humility.  

It’s interesting to consider humility with respect to/toward particular relationships.  My last writing was speaking of humility toward others…counting them more significant than oneself (Phil. 2:3-5).  Paul also addresses humility toward God, with whom we are to cooperate in sanctification with fear and trembling.  The one who is humble toward God is grateful, generous, prayerfully dependent, and repentant (among other things).  It’s worth spending more time reflecting on how humility ought to manifest itself in our relationship with God through Christ.  There’s gold to mine there.

But in what follows I want to consider briefly humility toward self.  Philippians 3:7 comes on the heels of the Apostle listing out his Jewish resume that showcased his arrival at religious excellence.  He had a clean family tree.  He lived the Torah.  He was an expert on the doctrinal issues of his day.  He even took up arms against that cult called Christianity to purge the idolaters from Jewish communal life.  No one could find fault with Paul…except God.  Once Jesus shows up in blinding light, Paul repents and puts his Jewish resume into his paper shredder.  His self righteous pride is no longer the governing feature of his religious existence.  He’s now relating to self in humility through King Jesus.  

That’s important to recognize.  Humility toward self requires a living relationship with Jesus.  It requires new-birth transformation and ongoing Spirit-empowered sanctification.  Often, we will feign humility through self-deprication or even praising others for good things that we in fact have accomplished.  

But for Paul, humility toward self requires a shift in focus.  It’s no longer about my success, my merits, my pedigree.  It’s about Christ’s.  “For me, to live is Christ…” Paul says in 1:21.  He’s not concerned about what will come of his life, because it’s all profitable for Jesus.  Imagine how Paul’s missionary journeys would have gone if he had been concerned about his retirement account or concerned about the availability of fresh microroast coffee (I’m picking on myself a little bit.)  

Humility toward self requires a focus shift away from self to Jesus.  If I think of myself too highly, I’ll accept praise for things accomplished through the gifts given to my by the Spirit.  Or I’ll downplay the accomplishment itself, often beneath the level of contribution it actually makes.  If I’m proud, I’ll justify my own sin.  Maybe I’ll start comparing myself to others whom I deem worse sinners (the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple).  Or maybe I’ll wallow in shame, dragging my heels to confess it to God, because I’m scolding myself and expecting better performance.  

See, pride’s underbelly is shame, hiding, and self-deprication.  It’s not a humble act to be ashamed of sin.  It’s a proud act that escapes from consequences and retreats from relationship.  It’s about preserving one’s own image.  It worries more about what others think than about what God thinks.  It tries to hide things that are in the plain sight of God.  It’s self-focused not Jesus-focused.  And we won’t ever find humility toward self by focusing on self.  The act of self-focus is prideful.  

Of course, there is right self-reflection.  But when we turn introspective without inviting God into the reflection, we’re working in our own strength to root out the junk in our hearts, attitudes, and actions.  Or we’re puffing ourselves up in self righteousness.  Humility is far from us in these moments.  

So we don’t think of ourselves more highly than we ought.  But we also don’t downgrade real accomplishments of service in false humility.  We don’t wallow in shame.  We don’t grind our minds in self assessment.  We don’t gnaw our fingernails worried about what others think of us.  We shift our focus from self to Jesus.  That’s how we act in humility toward self.  

For me, to live is [not Matt but] Christ.