Being Humble

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had “blogger’s block”. Let me explain. My process for choosing entries, based on the previous General Conference addresses, is to review the talks and let one of them “speak” to me. I then read through the material and find a relevant topic to blog about. My goal has always been two-fold: first, that my words might help someone draw closer to Jesus Christ, and second, that I might be drawn closer to Christ.

As I said, I have been having a tough time the past couple of weeks and I believe I have found the answer. Humility. I was drawn to “Humble to Accept and Follow“, given by Elder Joni L. Koch. I did my usual reading through and highlighting items, but didn’t start in on this post. Lying in bed after reading and highlighting, it came to me that I haven’t been humble enough concerning my blog. I have become more obsessed about views and where my audience resides, than the actual content of the entries.

In his address, Elder Koch quotes Alma 5:27, “Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?” It is an introspective question. One that I asked myself. I found that I haven’t been sufficiently humble in my quest to be more like God and to share His word with others.

Definition of Humble and Humility

The definition of humble is, “Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance.” In other words, being humble means not puffing yourself up or making yourself seem more important than anyone else.

The definition of humility is, “Freedom from pride or arrogance.” Thus, having humility means not thinking that you are better than someone else, or know more than they do. You are willing to accept that things might not be as you see them and are willing to listen to other points of view.

In a spiritual context humility is “to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support” (Gospel Topics: Humility). How grateful are we that we are dependent on the Lord? Do we understand that He will always be there to support us and that we need His support?

Being Humble

I think that sometimes we fall into the trap of relying on ourselves too much. I also think that we sometimes fall into the trap of relying too much on the Lord. The Lord wants us to “Do many things of [our] own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:27). However, He also wants us to acknowledge Him in all things. We are also told to “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good” (Alma 37:37).

We can find a balance through humility. The things we do of our own free will we do because of our love of God. We know that because of our love for Him and our love for our neighbor, we do things in righteousness. After we have performed a task, we should acknowledge God’s hand in the performing of it. This shows our humility.

We can also be humble when we are the recipients of blessings. When someone performs service on our behalf, or we receive a blessing from God, we need to be humble and acknowledge that those things came from God. As a side note, we need to be humble to receive the service others provide.

Finally, we should be humble when the Lord calls us to do work in His kingdom. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members are called to positions and are asked to fulfill those positions. Those callings come from the Lord through inspiration to those who have been called to lead. In these instances, we need to be humble enough that the Holy Ghost can confirm to us that the calling comes from God. It’s what He wants us to do.

Conclusion

Humility is a Christ-like trait. We need to be humble in acknowledging our dependence on the Lord. We need to be humble in receiving help from others and God. We need to be humble when God asks us to perform tasks in His kingdom. Being humble allows us to also “do many things of our own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” My goal is to be more humble as I continue my study of the words of God’s chosen in General Conference.