And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. – Philippians 2:8, KJV

Andrew Murray, author of Humility: The Beauty of Holiness and Humility & Absolute Surrender, defined this elusive character trait as follows:

Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.

Philippians 2:6-8 gives us the Bible’s best embodiment of humility: Christ Jesus Himself. In verse 8, the word “humble” is the Greek word “tapeinoo” (pronounced tap-i-no’-o), which has as one of its meanings “to level, reduce to a plain.” Plains are areas of flat, treeless land. They are typically as flat as a pancake, and for the next moment or so imagine that you are such an area of flat land. Standing at the edge of the plain are two soldiers, each manning old-fashioned cannons. One cannon shoots cannonballs of persecution, ridicule, and hatred. The other cannon fires cannonballs of praise, flattery, and admiration. Both soldiers fire shot after shot at you, trying to hit you with those things that would make you bitter or make you proud. Time after time, however, the cannonballs miss their mark. Why? Because the cannonballs fly lazily over your flat, humble character, having nothing to hit with their catalysts of bitterness or pride. Lying on your back, you wave at the cannonballs as they fly over you, and you smile, thanking God for not letting the world’s circumstances affect you as Satan had intended.

Like Christ, we ought to let wicked influences fly over us. Like Christ, we ought to let men’s praises sail past us without affecting us. Like Christ, we ought to view ourselves as nothing in comparison to doing the Father’s will, and the only way we can do such a superhuman thing is to give up our right to ourselves and to let the God of salvation truly have lordship over our lives. When we let God have the reigns of our lives, He will transform us into the image of His son, as 2 Corinthians 3:18 teaches, and humility will be ours!