Humility and Pride

Once, there was a humble member in a large congregation. The elders watched him for years – he was always the first to arrive and arrange the chairs, and the last to leave after cleaning the floors, rearranging the chairs, and taking the trash out to the garbage disposal. They honored him with a pin that said, “Theo is the humblest man in our congregation.” In a few weeks, however, they had to take that pin back because Theo was wearing it everywhere and telling everyone how humble he was.

Moses, who wrote the Numbers, said of himself, “The man Moses is exceedingly gentle (pravs) compared to all people who were on the earth” (Num 12:3), and Jesus said, “Take my yoke on your shoulders and learn from me: I am gentle (pravs) and humble (thapinos) in my heart. You’ll find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:29). These self-descriptions sound arrogant for them to say about themselves until we understand “gentle” and “humble” were synonyms of “submission to God” in that culture.

One of the proverbs says,

“YHWH resists (anti-thasso) the arrogant but gives gifts to the humble (thapinos)” (Prov 3:34)

James (4:6) and Peter (5:5) quoted this verse to their congregations because arrogance was a refusal to submit to God and his instructions. Such people never received blessings from God. On the other hand, those who submitted themselves to God received blessings from him. In this way, Moses and Jesus were exceptional examples of those who submitted and humbled themselves before God.

After instructing the older folks in the congregation on how to shepherd others by example and not lording over them, Peter addressed the younger people in the congregation.

“Young people, be under [the shepherding] of the older people and put on a humble mindset towards one another because God resists the arrogant and gives grace to the humble.” (1 Pet 5:5)

Peter used ipo-tasso, meaning “be under,” the shepherding of the older people because God opposed (anti-tasso) the arrogant. This was the first play-on-words: ipo-tasso versus anti-tasso. If they weren’t ipo-tasso, God was anti-tasso.

Further, they were to have a humble mindset (thapino-frin) because God opposed those who manifested arrogance (hyper-fino): thapino-frin or hyper-fino. Since he gave gifts to the humble (thapino), the younger people were to be thapino-frin, humble-minded.

The word for arrogance was hyper “above” fino “show off.” Anyone who took pride in his/her achievement and didn’t submit to God didn’t receive God’s blessings. If Abraham and Sarah could have had a baby within the first five years of their marriage, they wouldn’t have seen the need to depend on God to fulfill the promise of a child. If David had been a mighty warrior like Goliath or Saul, he would have thought he had defeated the Philistines. If Zechariah and Elizabeth could have had a son in their years of fertility, they wouldn’t have seen John as a miracle child. Jesus wouldn’t have been a divine incarnate if Joseph had a relationship with Mary. Only those with nothing to boast about themselves received extraordinary gifts from God, knowing it was a gift by grace. That was why the young folks were to ipo-tasso – be under the shepherding of elders. In their humility, thapino, God would reward them.

Ultimately, they were “humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God so that he would exalt them in the right time” (1 Pet 5:6). God saw their humility, thapino, and exalted them at the right time. Until then, they remained under the leadership of the elders.