Are you too humble for God?
VideoTranscript
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Life has taught me that the best advice often comes in unexpected packages. For me, it was a homemade book handed to me by my friend's mom when I was about 15 years old. Self-published doesn't begin to describe it. This was papers printed on a home printer and placed in a simple folder. But within those humble pages written by a Christian psychologist was a saying that would forever change my perspective. If you think too much of yourself, it said, God won't use you. But if you think too little of yourself, God can't use you.
I remember sitting on the edge of my friend's bed, flipping through those pages, and feeling like someone had finally put into words something I'd been struggling with my entire young life. How do we balance confidence with humility? How can we be both modest and assured? That simple statement illuminated a path that I've tried to follow ever since. Now, let's think about what this means in biblical terms. When we look at the stories of those called to serve God, we often see this delicate balance playing out. Consider Moses at the burning bush.
When God appeared to Moses in that miraculous moment, calling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses immediate response was not eager acceptance. In Exodus 3, Moses responds to God's call with hesitation. Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and then I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? Moses continued with excuse after excuse. What if they don't believe me? I'm not eloquent enough. Please send somebody else.
Moses wasn't displaying humility here. He was displaying a lack of self-worth. He couldn't see himself as capable of fulfilling God's purpose even with God's promise to be with him right in front of his face. God's patience wore thin with Moses. Not because Moses was being humble, but because Moses was refusing to accept the capabilities God had given him. In Exodus 4:414, we read that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. God wasn't angry at Moses for being humble.
He was frustrated that Moses wouldn't accept the strength and ability that God had placed within him and would continue to provide. Or think about Gideon, another man who struggled with confidence. When the angel of the Lord appeared to him in Judges chapter 6, the heavenly messenger greeted him with, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor." But how did Gideon respond? He immediately questioned the declaration, saying, "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." Gideon lacked self-confidence despite an angel appearing before him with reassurance.
Contrast these examples with King Nebuchadnezzar, who walked on the roof of his royal palace and declared in Daniel 4:30, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" Now, here is a man who thought too much of himself, who believed his accomplishments were his alone, who failed to acknowledge God's role in his successes. And we know what happened next. He was humbled in the most dramatic fashion, living like an animal until he acknowledged that God alone rules over the kingdoms of men. Or consider King Herod agria the first in Acts 12. When he gave a speech to the people, they shouted, "The voice of a god and not a man." Did Herod correct them?
Did he redirect this worship to the true God? No. Acts 12 tells us, "Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God. and he was eaten by worms and died. His arrogance, his willingness to accept divine praise brought about his sudden and gruesome end. God will not share his glory with another. As Isaiah 42 reminds us, these examples perfectly illustrate the message I encountered in that simple folder all those years ago.
Moses and Gideon thought too little of themselves, and God couldn't use them effectively until they embraced their calling. Nebuchadnezzar and Herod thought too much of themselves and God wouldn't use them until they were humbled permanently in Herod's case. So what exactly is humility according to scripture? It's not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. True biblical humility isn't self-draation. It's not about denying your gifts or talents or worth.
It's about recognizing that these gifts come from God and are meant to be used for his purposes. In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul writes, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in loneliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you not look out for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." This doesn't mean we should think of oursel we should think of ourselves as worthless. It means we should value others highly, seeing their worth just as we recognize our own. True humility means recognizing our dependence on God. It means acknowledging that our strength comes from him.
It means understanding that we are vessels he uses to accomplish his purpose. But a vessel must be strong enough to hold what's poured into it. If the vessel believes is too fragile to be useful, it won't fulfill its purpose either. That's the key insight I gained from that simple saying so long ago. Confidence and humility aren't opposites. They're partners. God doesn't want us cowering in the shadows, afraid to step into our calling because we don't believe we're worthy or capable.
He's already declared our worth. In Psalm 139:14, David proclaims, "I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. But God also doesn't want us strutting around believing our accomplishments are our own, taking credit for the gifts he gave us. In James 4:6, we read that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Pride cuts us off from the very source of our strength. Let me share what happened in my own life after reading those words at the age of 15.
I'd always struggled with displaying confidence internally. I was very confident. It's my nature. But my high control pseudo-Christian upbringing taught me it was wrong to display it. So I was the kid who wouldn't raise his hand in class even when I knew the answer. I was hesitant to share my thoughts or ideas because I didn't want to be seen as a showoff. I would see opportunities to serve or lead or create, but I talk myself out of them because I thought it would display a lack of humility if I took on the position.
I was mistaking my behavior for humility. I thought being humble meant diminishing myself, making myself small. But that day, reading those words, I realized I wasn't being humble. I was denying the gifts God had given me. I was burying my talents in the ground. Like the servant of Matthew 25:25 who said, "I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground." That's not humility.
That's fear. And God doesn't call us to fear. In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul reminds us, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind." True humility acknowledges the gifts God has given us and steps forward in confidence to use them for his glory. Now, I know this may sound foreign to some of us who've grown up in churches where humility was often equated with self-deprecation. We've been taught that thinking well of ourselves is somehow prideful or sinful. And I understand why this teaching persists.
It's easier to control people who doubt themselves, who don't trust their own understanding of scripture, who rely on church leadership to tell them what to think and how to live. That's how big churches pack the seats and make their money. But that's not what the Bible teaches. In Acts 17:1, we read about the Bereans who were commended because they received the word with all readiness and search the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. God expects us to think for ourselves, to study his word, to develop our own relationship with him. Sadly, human nature makes us want a human leader to tell us what to do and when to do it, what's right and what's wrong. It's exactly what God warned the Israelites about when they first demanded a king.
They got their king, but they also got all the problems God told them would come with it. I learned that lesson the hard way in my former religion. And that's why I describe myself as independently faithful. Now, you'll see that label below the channel name in the little clip that ends each of my videos. It's not that I don't value community. I absolutely do. The body of Christ is wonderful for support, accountability, growth.
But my faith doesn't depend on any human leader or institution. It rests on Christ alone, on his word, on the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth as promised by Jesus in John 16:13. So what is this balance of confidence and humility look like in practice? Well, let's look at the Apostle Paul as an example. In 1 Corinthians 15:9 and 10, he wrote, "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all.
Yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me." Notice how Paul balances acknowledging his unworthiness with confidently claiming his accomplishments. He doesn't pretend he hasn't done great things. He states plainly that he labored more abundantly than they all. That's not false modesty. But he immediately attributes the power behind his work to God's grace. That's true humility.
Or consider King David. He was confident enough to face Goliath when everyone else was afraid. In 1st Samuel 17, he boldly proclaims, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." That's not arrogance. That's confidence in God's power working through him. But David also wrote Psalm 51, one of the most profound expressions of humility and repentance in all of scripture, acknowledging his sin and his complete dependence on God's mercy. So, how do we cultivate this balanced view, this balanced perspective in our own lives?
First, we need to recognize that both pride and insecurity stem from the same root, an excessive focus on our self. Whether we're constantly building ourselves up or tearing ourselves down, we're still making it all about us. True humility shifts the focus away from ourselves altogether. Second, we need to renew our minds with God's truth about who we are. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul tells us, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." The word translated as workmanship is the Greek word poa, which we get our word poem from. Though that's not what the original word means.
It means handiwork or even masterpiece. You are also God's poem. A beautiful work created with purpose and intention, able to inspire and move others. Third, we need to embrace the calling God has placed on our lives even when it seems beyond our capabilities. Remember Jeremiah's response when God called him to be a prophet. In Jeremiah 1:6, he protests, "Ah Lord God, behold, I cannot speak for I am a youth." But how does God respond?
Do not say, "I am a youth," for you shall go to all whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you." God does not accept Jeremiah's self-doubt as humility. He calls him to step into his purpose with confidence. Fourth, we need to be honest about our weakness and limitations, not to wallow in them, but to allow God's strength to be perfected in them. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 10, Paul writes, "And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches, and needs, and persecutions, and distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Acknowledging weakness isn't the same as believing we're worthless. It's creating space for God's power to work through us. It's saying, "I can't do this on my own, but I'm not on my own." Fifth, we need to remember that it's not about us at all. It's about God working through us.
In John 15:5, Jesus says, "I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me you can do nothing. Our confidence comes not from what we can do but from what God can do through us when we remain connected to him. And this reminds me of how Jesus used children as examples of the right attitude for entering the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 18, he says, "Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in their midst of them, and said, Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become his little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." What's beautiful about children is how they embody this perfect balance we're discussing. Children are naturally humble and dependent. They know they need their parents. They're obedient, at least most of the time, some of the time, but they also know they have limitations. But children also possess an incredible confidence about what they can do with their parents' help. I remember seeing a little girl at a playground where I had taken my kids years ago.
The girl was maybe 5 years old. She tackled a climbing wall at the playground that was clearly designed for older kids, but she had zero hesitation. "Daddy said,"I can do it," she declared to her mom. And sure enough, with her father's hands guiding and supporting her, she made it all the way to the top. She didn't doubt her father's assessment of her abilities for one second. She didn't think, "Well, daddy's just saying that to make me feel good." She believed him completely and acted on that belief, making it all the way up.
That's the kind of humble confidence God wants from us. Like children with their parents, we acknowledge our complete dependence on our heavenly father. We recognize our limitations. We obey his guidance, but we also fully believe what he says about us and our capabilities with his help. We don't second guessess his assessment or shrink back from the challenges he sets before us, thinking we're somehow not good enough. We simply trust and act on that trust. Now, let me share how this understanding transformed my approach to serving God.
As a teenager, after reading that saying in that self-printed book, I started to step out of my comfort zone. I began to raise my hand in class. I volunteered for leadership roles I would have avoided before. I shared my thoughts and ideas more freely, not because I suddenly believed I was better than everyone else, but because I realized that hiding my light wasn't serving anyone. And years later, people reached out to me to tell me that that impressed them. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. Diminishing ourselves does not bring glory to God. It wastes the gifts he's given us. It buries the light he's placed within us. True humility lets that light shine brightly while recognizing and acknowledging the source of the light. I've seen this principle play out countless times in my life and in the lives of others.
I've seen talented people held back by insecurity, convinced they're not good enough to use their gifts. And I've also seen equally talented people derailed by pride, convinced they deserve all the credit for their success. This sweet spot is in the middle. Confident enough to step out in faith, humble enough to give glory to God. It's a delicate balance, but it's where we find our greatest effectiveness for God's kingdom. Think about the disciples. They were ordinary men, fishermen, tax collectors, everyday people like you and me without special training or status.
But Jesus saw what they could become. And after Pentecost, after they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they stepped confidently into their calling. In Acts 4:13, we read, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and they realized that they had been with Jesus." Christ knew this in advance, telling them in John 14:12 that they would do works greater than they witnessed even Jesus himself do. Peter and John weren't hesitant or apologetic about their message. They spoke boldly, confidently, but they weren't speaking in their own strength or authority. They were speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit.
And everyone who heard them knew the difference. This balance of confidence and humility is essential for effective service in God's kingdom. If we think too much of ourselves, God won't use us because our pride creates a barrier between us and him. We become unteachable, self-reliant, focused on our own glory rather than his. But if we think too little of ourselves, God can't use us because we won't step into the opportunity he provides out of fear. We'll be too afraid, too uncertain, too busy apologizing for our existence to make a meaningful impact. God wants us to see ourselves as he sees us, deeply loved, wonderfully made, equipped with gifts and talents for a purpose, dependent on him, but valuable in our own right.
In Romans 12:3, Paul advises, "For I say through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." Note that Paul doesn't say, "Think as lowly of yourself as possible." He says, "Think soberly, realistically, accurately, truthfully." And the truth is, you are a child of God. You are created in his image. You are redeemed by Christ's sacrifice. You are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, equipped with gifts and talents and experiences that make you uniquely qualified for certain aspects of God's work.
Denying this isn't humility. It's lack of gratitude. It's like telling God he did a poor job when he made you. It's refusing the gifts he's given you, burying your talents instead of investing them. On the other hand, taking credit for these gifts, believing they make you superior to others, using them for your own glory rather than God's, that's pride. And pride goes before destruction and a hotty spirit before a fall, as we read in Proverbs 16:18. The middle path, the path of true biblical humility paired with godly confidence, is the most effective path for kingdom service.
It's Moses after he finally accepts God's call, confronting Pharaoh with boldness, but always relying on God's power. It's Gideon moving from, "I am the least in my father's house," to commanding an army of 300 against overwhelming odds because he finally believed God could work through him. It's David facing Goliath with confidence, not in himself, but in the living God. It's Esther risking her life to save her people, saying, "If I perish, I perish." Stepping into her position of influence with courage, while acknowledging the risk. And it's Jesus himself who in Philippians 2 6-8 is described as not grasping at equality with God, but humbling himself to become human and even to die on a cross. Yet this same Jesus spoke with unmatched authority, confronted religious leaders, claimed to be one with the father, and proclaimed himself the way, the truth, and the life.
Perfect humility paired with perfect confidence and perfect balance. Do you want to be like Christ? Then be like Christ. Humble but confident. If you're too self-deprecating or arrogant, you're not being like Christ at all. This is what God calls us to. Not cowering insecurity disguises humility, and not boastful arrogance masquerading as confidence, but a sober assessment of who we are in Christ, of the gifts he's given us, of the calling he's placed on our lives, and a willingness to step into that calling with both confidence and dependence on him.
Remember, God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. Moses wasn't a natural public speaker. Gideon was the least in his family. David was the youngest of his brothers. Jeremiah was young. Peter was impulsive.
Paul had persecuted the church. Yet God used them all powerfully when they found that balance between confidence and humility. And he can use you, too, if you're willing to see yourself as he sees you. Not thinking too highly of yourself, but not thinking too little of yourself either. Just seeing yourself truthfully as a beloved child of God, created with purpose, equipped with gifts, dependent on him, but valuable in your own right. That's the message that changed my life when I was 15, sitting on my friend's bed, reading those words in that humble homemade book. And it's the message I hope will change your life today.
So, let this be our prayer. Father Aba, help us to see ourselves as you see us, not through the distorted lens of pride or insecurity, but through the clear light of your truth. Give us the humility to acknowledge our complete dependence on you, and the confidence to step boldly into the calling you've placed on our lives. May we neither think too highly of ourselves, nor too lowly, but soberly, honestly, truthfully. Help us to use the gifts you've given us without apology or arrogance for your glory and not our own. And when we fall into either pride or self-deprecation, gently guide us back to that middle path where we find our greatest effectiveness for your kingdom. In Jesus name, amen.
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