News
5 Ideas To Practice Spiritual Humility
Hello! My name is Dr. Rebecca Letterman and I have the privilege of serving as the Director of the Intellectual and Spiritual Humility Institute at Roberts Wesleyan University.
In the past, I’ve shared what it means to be spiritually humble. Now, I’m here to offer practical suggestions on how to practice spiritual humility.
Start with the right mindset.
If you find yourself wanting to be more humble, God is already at work in you!
Very little in the dominant culture or structures of North America nurtures humility, so if you find yourself longing to grow in this mindset, that is a wonderful first step.
Humility is not something that we can work to attain, but is instead something we can commit to practice in response to God’s invitation to us to be like Jesus. Practicing humility regularly nurtures an orientation (or “disposition”) within us over time. I view such practices as “prayers” in and of themselves.
We cannot make ourselves humble. But we can make ourselves available to grow in humility in a variety of ways.
If you do not find yourself wanting to be more humble, it’s important to be honest about that and ask ourselves “why not?”
A good starting point is to examine our own mindset and assumptions about humility:
What do I understand humility to be?
How do I experience myself in relation to God and to others?
Am I able to be at ease in a way that I am not constantly worrying about what others think about me or how they are experiencing me?
Do I regularly experience awe of God and of others in my life?
Pray.
Since any spiritual maturation in us comes as a work of God’s grace, we first need to posture ourselves receptively to God, expressing our desire to be like Jesus in true humility.
Offer a prayer to God, admitting your utter reliance on God to “change your heart of stone to a heart of flesh.” Practice accepting the love of God for you personally, with gratitude. Learn to rest in God’s borderless love. Linger when you sense God’s love for you.
If you struggle with this, ask a pastor or spiritual friend in whom you experience humble, strong faith to accompany you in learning ways to receive God’s love.
Regularly remind yourself that every person is loved and treasured by God. When you look at people, remind yourself that no matter what they do (or don’t do), because they are human beings, they are God’s beloved image bearers.
Every person is worthy of dignity and is valued. Notice what happens in your attitudes towards them when you keep God’s value of them in mind.
When praying about growing in humility, some suggestions are to:
Express my honest attitude about humility to God - whether it is desire, aversion, apathy, or something else - and invite God to be present to me in that current reality.
Practice receptivity in prayer - anticipate and look for God to respond to my prayers about humility.
Pray for and with others - however I experience other people, take those experiences to God in prayer, inviting God to form me to be more like Jesus.
Invite others to pray for you, and welcome those prayers with gratitude.
Serve someone.
Serve someone. Find at least one person in your life that you can practice serving. Minister to them and pay attention to what they are teaching you as you do so..
As you serve, reflect on thoughts and experiences that arise. Perhaps you will experience a sense of connection, contentment, and joy. Thank God for such experiences.
When thoughts of comparison, judgment (of self or others), or a “need to please” come up, there is no need to condemn yourself. Instead, gently offer such thoughts and attitudes to God in prayer, inviting God to heal the wounded places in you that resist humble trust in His love for us and others.
When serving others with a view toward growing in humility:
Look to serve those who are most often overlooked in our busy, productive culture, not people you are trying to impress or prove something to.
Offer the tangible presence of Jesus to others as you serve.
Focus on service not as “duty” or as a “should,” but as one way to express your gratitude for the way Jesus taught us to live - a way that is oriented toward others and not only ourselves.
Pay attention to the motives that arise when you serve someone else.
What comes up in your heart and mind when you have the opportunity to serve them?
Allow others to serve you.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of assuming you are always in a position to give to others. Remember that we all have needs, and so serving someone is simply a way to recognize your commonality with everyone else (it is not about being people’s “savior”).
Spend time around someone you know who is practicing humility.
Jesus told his disciples to “learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
One of the best ways to practice humility is to be around people who are humble and watch and learn from them in the real contexts of our lives.
Being around people who practice humility will show us ways of thinking and “being” that can show us by “contrast” the way that humility is countercultural. Humility is something “better caught than taught.” We need to experience humility in action in order to have a tangible vision of how we, too, can practice humility in ways that contribute to changing us.
To learn more about how to practice humility from someone who you experience as a practicer themselves:
Identify several people whose practices of humility feel “second-nature” (unconscious) to them. Share your desire to grow in humility and ask them to pray for you - and to share with you their experiences with what has taught them about humility.
Pay attention to the contexts in which you witness practices of humility and look for ways to spend time with people in those contexts.
Get to know people who are “other” than you.
Glimpsing the breadth of human experiences and perspectives helps us experience the truth that God’s love for all people is truly unconditional.
Nurturing a triangle of awareness of God, ourselves, and others all existing in an essential state of belovedness opens us to humility being rooted in us more and more deeply.
Human suffering and beauty are all held with wonder within the loving context of true spiritual humility. Growing in awareness of the complexity of human experiences, especially circumstances that are very different from our own, and also finding what we share in common as human beings, can nurture in us appreciation for the way we are all distinct and yet connected with each other.
Often we need to go somewhere new to meet people who are different than we are. You can do this by:
Going to a different grocery store or a laundromat (even if you have a washing machine at home!)
Joining a club or an organization that does something you are interested in but have never explored (including online groups)
Spending time in an eldercare facility, or another health care facility of some type, where you can interact with people who are differently abled than you might be
Interested in learning more?
The Intellectual and Spiritual Humility Institute offers mini-classes, webinars, workshops, or customized consulting for you or your organization.