“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” James 4:6

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” James 4:10

“¹⁸ Pride goeth before destruction, And an haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁹ Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16:18-19

Is there a characteristic that you find as an attractive attribute? Some people may think of beautiful eyes or hair, others may think of a clear complexion, or perhaps a muscular physique. There are things that we find attractive. God also see certain characteristics as “attractive”. For example, God loves humility, it is an attribute that He finds “attractive”. There are several verses (like they ones above) that teach us about humility. In James 4:6, God reminds us that He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. If God finds humility as an attractive attribute, He finds pride (the antithesis of humility) as repulsive! Pride is like what we might think of bad breath or perhaps like a body odor from not using deodorant, it is something that is easily noticed, but not in a good way. Pride and these foul odors have something else in common, they are both natural. We wear deodorant to keep from having body odor. We brush our teeth and use mints so we do not have bad breath. Pride is natural because we are sinners. We have to die to ourselves, submit ourselves to God and to His will to keep pride from dominating our lives. Pride is ugly, but humility is attractive.

With this in mind, it is important that missionaries stay humble, but not because they are missionaries. It is not something that missionaries need, but something we all need as Christians. Stay humble, die to self, submit yourself to God daily, humble yourself in His sight. It is for your good and for His glory!