Category:Humility

Hu*mil"i*ty, n.; pl. Humilities. Etym: [OE. humilite, OF. humilité, humelité, F. humilité, fr. L. humiliatis. See Humble.]

1. The state or quality of being humble; freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth; a sense of one's own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness; self-abasement; humbleness. Serving the Lord with all humility of mind. Acts 20:19.

2. An act of submission or courtesy. With these humilities they satisfied the young king. Sir J. Davies.

Syn. -- Lowliness; humbleness; meekness; modesty; diffidence. -- Humility, Modesty, Diffidence. Diffidence is a distrust of our powers, combined with a fear lest our failure should be censured, since a dread of failure unconnected with a dread of censure is not usually called diffidence. It may be carried too far, and is not always, like modesty and humility, a virtue. Modesty, without supposing self-distrust, implies an unwillingness to put ourselves forward, and an absence of all over-confidence in our own powers. Humility consists in rating our claims low, in being willing to waive our rights, and take a lower place than might be our due. It does not require of us to underrate ourselves.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Humility - A prominent Christian grace (Romans 12:3; Romans 15:17, Romans 15:18; 1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 4:11). It is a state of mind well pleasing to God (1 Peter 3:4); it preserves the soul in tranquillity (Psalms 69:32, Psalms 69:33), and makes us patient under trials (Job 1:22). Christ has set us an example of humility (Philippians 2:6). We should be led thereto by a remembrance of our sins (Lamentations 3:39), and by the thought that it is the way to honor (Proverbs 16:18), and that the greatest promises are made to the humble (Psalms 147:6; Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2; 1 Peter 5:5). It is a "great paradox in Christianity that it makes humility the avenue to glory."