Humility VS. Pride Acknowledging that achievement results from the investments of others in my life.

Definition State or quality of being humble in spirit; freedom from pride and arrogance. An act of submission or humble courtesy.

For example One of the hardest secrets for a man to keep is his opinion of himself. A person that can do this is humble.

Pride will kill humility. To understand humility, we must look at what pride is. Pride is: to much self esteem, arrogance, seldom wrong, someone who thinks of himself highly.

A proud man will have these attributes: P-Pompous: self important. R-Recognize the faults of others before he sees himself. I- Idolizes himself. Tries to get others to exhort him. D-Demanding. Loves to be the authority. E- Exaggerates the things that he does. Their own faults are minimized by magnifying the faults of others.

Example Two ducks and a rather egotistical frog developed a friendship. When their pond dried up, the ducks knew they could easily fly to another location, but what of their friend the frog? Finally they decided to fly with a stick between their two bills, and with the frog hanging onto the stick by his mouth. All went well until a man looked up and saw them in the sky. “What a clever idea,” said the man. “I wonder who thought of that?” “I did” said the frog. The rest of the story is obvious.

Group Pick one thing that you achieved in your life where you didn’t need anyone else to help you. What areas can you take the focus off of yourself and instead exhort others. Who do you know that works hard but doesn’t get enough praise? How can you be humble and praise these people for what they do? Make a point to do it.

Humility: The most humble people in the world would never tell you they are. I think we have come to the place where humility is the ability to look embarrassed while bragging. I see this a lot. Humility is one of the strongest characteristics that there is. It is the humble person that has power to move the hearts of people. It is the humble person that leads with integrity and grace. It is the character that is left out of a “self made man.”

Example A self made man forgets that it was the people around him that made him. It is the humble person that will do all the things that count but never stop to count them. Humility is like our underclothes, it keeps us clean, and it’s not to be flaunted. It has been said that true humility is like a fragile plant, that the slightest reference to it or touching it would cause it to wilt and die.

After Abraham Lincoln had defeated Stephen A Douglas for the presidency, the two were together on the east portico of the capital for Lincoln’s inauguration. The president elect was introduced by Senator Edward E Baker of Oregon. Lincoln stood beside him, carrying the manuscript of his speech, a cane, and his tall silk hat. As he made ready to speak, he looked around for a place to put his hat. Stephen Douglas quickly stepped forward, took the hat, and returned to his seat. “If I can’t be president,” he said to a cousin of Mrs. Lincoln, “I can at least hold his hat.”

Humility is not just thinking lowly of oneself, for a humble man wouldn’t take the time to think it. It is who he is, what he has become, what God has made him, what he has allowed himself to be.

Group discussion Get in your groups and discuss how you could be more humble. At Home At work By yourself

A game: Unscramble the sentence. The first group to unscramble gets the satisfaction of knowing that they did it. Mbuleh souryvels ni het gisth fo het dorl, dan eh halls filt ouy pu. Are you ready for the answer

Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.