You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” even though I am nothing at all. (2 Corinthians 12:11 NLT).

There is a type of pride that masquerades as humility.  As C.S. Lewis once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”

If God has given you a gift, it is not pride to recognize it. Let’s say that you have the gift of playing a musical instrument. Someone comes up to you and says, you are good playing that instrument, and you reply, not really, I’m not that good. If you are good, this response is just an inverted form of pride—or worm pride. In this response, in many cases, what you are doing is fishing for another compliment. It is just an insecure cry for affirmation. It would be far better to say a polite thank you.

Humility is being known for who you really are—both in our strengths and weaknesses. Pride is trying to portray yourself as better than you are; on the other hand, false humility is trying to show yourself as less than you are. We must be honest about ourselves, the good and the bad.

Humility is living in that dichotomy, as Paul did, between who he was in himself and who he was in God. He knew he was nothing in himself, but, at the same time, he was not inferior to the so-called “super apostles.”  Remember that Philippians 4:13 tells us we can do all things through Christ.

Are you gifted and called by God to a task but feel inadequate—join the club. God’s ability is always bigger than our insecurity. Stand up and be who God has called you to be. Say yes to God and no to worm pride.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]