Humbling ourselves is commonly difficult and painful. It goes against our desire to preserve our pride and sense of self-sufficiency. At times, we don’t need to confess that we’re improper, either to those around us or to God.
However, the Bible teaches us that we can’t be free from sins like pride and worldliness unless we turn to God in repentance. As James 4:10 exhorts us, we must humble ourselves before the Lord. God will then, in His grace, lift us up.
Every Christian needs to concentrate on the need of humbling himself or herself before the Lord since it is the one proper response once we recognize sin in our lives and the necessity for God’s grace.
Context of James 4:10 throughout the Passage
In chapter 4 of his epistle, James discussed the issue of pride amongst a gaggle of Christians. They were quarreling and fighting amongst their fellow Christians due to warring passions inside themselves (James 4:1-2). James reminded them that they weren’t asking the Lord for the things they wanted. When they did ask, that they had improper motives that didn’t align with God’s will (James 4:2-3).
The believers that James addressed were worldly and prideful. By selecting friendship with the world, they became enemies of God (James 4:4). They were adulterers, forsaking their past love for the empty pleasures of the world. The Spirit of the Lord is rightly envious when believers grow to be overrated and make worldly pleasures their god (see James 4:5).
James’ words are striking and simple, but he didn’t leave the group of Christians without hope. God will show grace when believers humble themselves. These believers needed to submit themselves to the Lord and resist the devil (James 4:7). By coming near to God through humble repentance, He would draw near to them (James 4:8). As James wrote, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he’ll lift you up” (James 4:10). Those who humble themselves, as an alternative of hanging onto their pride, could be lifted up and exalted by the Lord.
As James often did in his epistle, he referred to Jesus’ teachings without direct quotation. The exhortation to humble oneself before the Lord mirrors Jesus’ words in a parable concerning the seats at a marriage feast (Luke 14:7-11). Christ instructed the disciples to take the bottom seats, those least honored. Then, when the host invites them to take a better place on the table, they might be exalted. Jesus concluded the parable by saying, “For those that exalt themselves might be humbled, and those that humble themselves might be exalted” (Luke 14:11, NLT).
Taking into consideration the context of James 4:10 and its connection to Jesus’ parable, we will begin to know why we’d like to humble ourselves before the Lord. He opposes the proud (see James 4:6 and Proverbs 3:34). He is not going to reward haughtiness, nor will He hearken to our prayers once we defiantly turn away from Him to follow worldly pleasures. Instead, we must humbly repent and acknowledge our wrongdoing. The Lord will show grace to us, even when we now have failed.
Now that we now have considered the context, allow us to look more closely into 3 specific reasons from this verse that show us why we’d like to humble ourselves before the Lord:
1. We Need to Humble Ourselves to Fight the Trap of Pride
As was shown earlier, the Christians that James addressed in his letter were scuffling with pride. Focused on their desires, they were so haughty and hateful that they were willing to fight, quarrel, and even kill to get what they wanted. In pridefulness, that they had elevated themselves as preeminent.
Reading these descriptions, especially the detail about them coveting and acting like murderers due to their hatred, we would wonder why Christians would behave in such a way. However, we must do not forget that these were believers in Jesus. Throughout the epistle, James boldly confronted sin of their lives and reminded them that disciples of Jesus should strive to be doers of the Word and never hearers only (James 1:22). Following Jesus is difficult, especially as we fight against sin.
At times, all of us can struggle with pridefulness. It is a standard, though insidious, sin that easily ensnares people. Some believers might struggle with apparent pridefulness, while others could begin to notice it in additional subtle forms. Either way, the trail of pridefulness all the time results in a slippery precipice. Right when we predict we’re on top of the world, higher than anyone else, we move too near the sting and fall (see Proverbs 16:18).
We can understand, then, why God opposes the proud. The sin of pridefulness is disastrous to ourselves and others. Pride goes against God’s best commandments (Mark 12:29-31). We cannot love God and others if we harbor a haughty spirit.
The treatment to pridefulness is humility. Thus, James instructs us to undergo God and resist the devil (James 4:7). We can mend the tears in our relationship with the Lord by coming near to Him in repentance. We lower and humble ourselves by following James’ exhortation to, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom” (James 4:8-10). By lowering ourselves before God and recognizing our sinfulness, we will fight the sin of pride.
2. We Need to Humble Ourselves to Keep Far from Worldliness
James mentioned friendship with the world as one more reason for humbling ourselves before the Lord. The group of Christians that James addressed in his epistle committed spiritual adultery by chasing after worldly pleasures. In doing so, they became enemies of God (James 4:4).
Worldliness is commonly a confusing word in the fashionable day. Many people have misused the word to refer only to certain activities and items. Scripture cuts through this concept that worldliness applies solely to external matters, reminiscent of a certain sort of clothing or music. The Bible refers to worldliness as a heart issue – what an individual values and worships. Worldly individuals worship items, pleasures, and accomplishments as an alternative of God.
According to the Apostle John, worldliness consists of “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Notice that he focuses on the inner elements of an individual. Friendship with the world starts on the within as individuals lust or desire things which might be outside of the desire of God. The New Living Translation describes these desires as “a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for every little thing we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.”
Humbleness is required once we slip into worldliness. Our relationship with the Lord has been damaged since we now have made ourselves enemies of God by befriending the world, and we must repent.
By humbling ourselves, we start to see the ugliness of our sin and the empty desires of the world. We also remember the greatness and splendor of our holy God, and the way we cannot live serving two masters.
We must determine who we love more, the world or the living Lord and Savior.
3. We Need to Humble Ourselves to Remain Focused on God
Connected to being friends with the world is double-mindedness (James 4:8). The double-minded person is split in mind and heart. They will not be single-mindedly focused on serving and loving the Lord.
Earlier in his letter, James described a double-minded person as doubting. Such an individual is sort of a wave of the ocean tossed by the wind (James 1:6). When individuals doubt and will not be single-mindedly focused on God, “Their loyalty is split between God and the world, they usually are unstable in every little thing they do” (James 1:8, NLT).
We have to humble ourselves before the Lord once we struggle with double-mindedness because humility involves lowering ourselves and acknowledging God’s greatness. Through humbling ourselves, we start to know that nothing can compare to God. He is faithful and regular (Psalm 18:2; 1 Corinthians 1:9). Why should we doubt?
Also, He is bigger and more wonderful than any desire. We might think we long for something only sin may give us, but it surely is a counterfeit craving. What we truly need and desire is the Lord (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Double-mindedness has no place in a believer’s life. God Himself is jealous for us (James 4:5). He wants our single-minded, devoted love for Himself.
What Does This Mean for Us?
Each of us will proceed to struggle with sin throughout our lives. Sometimes the sin that may tempt and catch us might be pride, worldliness, or double-mindedness. Regardless of the sort of sin, we’d like to humble ourselves before the Lord and repent of our wrongdoings.
By humbling ourselves before the Lord and acknowledging our sins, we receive forgiveness and a reminder of God’s great grace, holiness, and right to be the middle of our lives.
Photo Credit: ©Thinkstock/GordonImages
Sophia Bricker is a contract author who enjoys researching and writing articles on biblical and theological topics. In addition to contributing articles about biblical questions as a contract author, she has also written for Unlocked devotional. She holds a BA in Ministry, a MA in Ministry, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing to develop her writing craft. As someone who’s captivated with the Bible and faith in Jesus, her mission is to assist others find out about Christ and glorify Him in her writing. When she isn’t busy studying or writing, Sophia enjoys spending time with family, reading, drawing, and gardening.
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