Humility

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!

If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all…

In a certain church some gossip was started about two aged men, saints of God, who had through many years served in that church…

When Kagawa was living in the slums of Kobe, he once invited a distinguished preacher to speak at a public meeting…

The Governor of North Carolina once complimented Thomas Edison on his creative genius. “I am not a great inventor,” countered Edison. “But you have over 1,000 patents to your credit,” the Governor stated…

O Saviour, meek and lowly of heart, let not our pride refuse thy bidding, to become as little children, in joy and simplicity, in trustfulness one toward another, in lowliness of heart; and by this thine own glory, bring us unto ours…

Tauler, who was almost contemporary with Luther, was one of the greatest orators of his time, a man deeply and wondrously eloquent, and whenever he mounted his pulpit at Strasburg Cathedral it was crowded with all sorts and conditions of men, from…

Sir Isaac Newton, when an old man, said to one who praised his wisdom, ‘I am as on the seashore picking up a pebble here and a shell there, but the great ocean of truth still lies before me.’

Dependence: Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Savior. –Ellen G White, MH 182.

In one of the best-known Lincoln stories we are told that a man, seeing young Lincoln intently reading a book, said, “Hello, Abe, studying law? Do you expect to be president some day?”…

He that is down needs fear no fall, He that is low, no pride. –Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress Don’t be humble; you’re not that great. –Golda Meir To be humble to superiors is a duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness. –Benjamin…

When Harry Truman was thrust into the presidency by the death of Franklin Roosevelt, Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House, took him aside and said, “You’re going to have lots of people around you…

When Colonel Samuel Logan Brengle of The Salvation Army was once introduced as “the great Colonel Brengle,” he wrote in his journal: “If I appear great in their eyes, the Lord is most gracious in helping me to see how absolutely nothing…

A young English man once came to live in the community led by Gandhi. When assigned to clean latrines, he protested, “Don’t you know who I am? I have great things to do.”…

“A leader of the Church of Scotland said to Mr. Taylor: ‘You must sometimes be tempted to be proud because of the wonderful way God has used you. I doubt if any man living has had greater honor.’…

Someone has said: “There is no end to the good that a man can do if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.”

A small shrub growing next to a tall pine looked at the ground and said: “See how tall I am.” But the pine, looking at the sky, said: “See how short I am.”

Persons with expanded selves, who live objectively in other persons and in wide-flung interests, Harry Emerson Fosdick suggests, can possibly have the prayer answered: O wad some pow’ the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!…

• I’ve never yet read of a crime but what I, too, might have committed that crime.-Dr. Samuel Johnson • There, but for the grace of God, go [.-Anonymous • I see trothing but hell.-John Wesley, about looking into his own heart…

When Ezra was returning to Jerusalem, he proclaimed a fast at the river Ahava. He humbled himself before God, seeking divine guidance for his journey without asking for an escort from the king.

Our friend Anna came home from school one day with her sunny face all in a cloud, and looking as if it might presently get a sprinkling of tears…

Once, when introducing Thomas A. Edison at a dinner, the toastmaster mentioned his many inventions, dwelling at length on the talking machine…

By Valerie N. Phillips, Associate director of the women’s residence hall at Andrews University. –Adventist Review, February 22, 2007 “Driver sought to be in the employ of the queen.” So read the notice…

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in , and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President’s outer office…

• We take pride in our personal appearance, but it’s said of Jesus, “He hath no form nor comeliness.” • We take pride in our reputation, but it’s said of Jesus, “Behold a man gluttonous and a winebib her.” • We take…

On another occasion years later, Elder Uriah Smith failed to return the greeting of a lame fellow worker, Sands Lane [1844-1906]…

Someone once asked Corrie ten Boom how she could possibly handle all the compliments and praise that were constantly heaped upon her, without becoming proud. She said she looked at each compliment as a beautiful long-stemmed flower given to her…

John D. Rockefeller once said, “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee. And I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.”…

Nanak, a medieval Indian saint, once said to a disciple: “Farid, if a man insult thee, stoop and touch his feet. 1444.1453 INTERDEPENDENCE Thus enterest thou the temple of the Lord.”

While working in a country, the speaker encountered a woman who would come every day to pay homage by touching and kissing their feet. When they bought her slippers, it was seen as lowering oneself but Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.

A minister referred to Christ’s triumphal entry into and asked: “What if the donkey on which Jesus was riding had thought all the cheering was for him?…

Moses wasn’t always humble. He felt very self-confident when he murdered the Egyptian and fled to the desert. But God rebuilt him during those 40 years in the wilderness, turning a proud man into one of the most humble individuals on earth.

WHEN my kids were small, I took them to the Ft. Worth Stock Show. This is a place where once a year various livestock are put on display…

Dr. George Buttrick tells a story of a saint knocking at the door of Heaven. He hears feet inside coming, then a voice saying, “Who’s there?” “I, Lord,” the saint answered. The footsteps moved away…

Let me say to every one that is beginning life: Do not begin with exaggerated ideas of your own worth…

A church produced a Christmas play a few years ago. A young boy had only one line. He was to stand and say, “I am the light of the world.”…

“I sought out my favorite armchair and enjoyed myself for a couple of hours,” said Mendelssohn speaking of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. “This is a spot where a man feels his own insignificance and may well learn to be humble.”

ONE of the least-thanked groups in our society is the people who empty the garbage. It’s not what you would call a high- class job. However, in New York a couple of years ago, the garbagemen went on strike…

WHEN MY oldest son was small, I bought him a bicycle for Christmas. It came with a manual that explained how to put it together. I did not intend on using the manual. After all, I was finishing my doctorate degree…

Although Charles V was haughty and proud, he stooped one day to pick up a fallen brush for Titian and said that he was pleased to wait upon so great a genius.

The Apostles, like their Master,were poor; and, in travelling about from placeto place,it often happened that they scarcely found entertainment of the plainestkind, orhadmoney to purchaseit…

A distinguished astronomer once declared at a scientific meet- ing: “To an astronomer, man is nothing more than an in- significant dot in an infinite universe.” To which Albert Einstein replied, “I have often felt that way…

FOR MOST men, getting behind the wheel in the car with their wife as the passenger can be a lesson in humility. You are driving down the highway. Your wife says, “Honey, do you know where you are going?”…

MAN was made from the ground. He’s an earthling, and on his best day he’s just dignified dirt. In fact, every living person is only worth about $3.57…

Scottie Pippen of the world-champion Chicago Bulls is one of basketball’s best forwards. But nine years ago in Hamburg, Arkansas, Pippen was just a six-foot-two, 145-pound point guard on his high school team—with no prospects…

I HATE squash. One of the worst things I could do at the dinner table is exclaim my distaste for squash. That was only a signal to take the squash bowl and forcibly serve me, putting the squash on my plate…

Ellen Harmon was only nine years old when something very serious happened to her. She and two friends were walking together when an angry older girl threw a stone at them. The stone hit Ellen right on the nose…

One of the greatest theologians in the history of Christendom was undoubtedly Aurelious Augustinius, better known as St. Augustine, who was converted in the year 387 and later became Bishop of Hippo in North Africa…