Fearless Series: Humility

This study can be done personally or with a friend. Check out the download section at the end of this study for offline and printable versions which include teacher’s notes.

[3] Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. [4] Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first.

Philippians 2:3-4 Voice

Humility means having a proper view of yourself, loving with all you have, and being secure enough to want others to succeed.

Are you humble in your relationships? Do you put you or your friends’ interests first?

Humility brings peace and happiness. It’s not about feeling inferior. It’s about not needing to prove anything anymore and just being close to God and friends.

The following study will help us understand how God teaches us humility and why.

What is humility?

Humility is the feeling or attitude that you have no special importance that makes you better than others; lack of pride.

Do you have humility?

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.

C.S. Lewis

Do you have a hard time thinking about others?

Without humility we usually spend our time thinking about ourselves, pushing us away from God and others. Humble people have room to love. When we’re humble we are able to love God and others more because we think their lives are equally valuable to our own.

Dark Knight Rises – Batman Doesn’t Need Credit to be a Hero

Batman is a great example of humility. He was willing to fight for people and love them without needing or wanting any credit, even as he was about to sacrifice himself for a city that constantly turned on him.

In one of the ending scenes of The Dark Knight Rises, Batman shows he valued protecting and caring about people, more than his own life.

Your goal

• Who is someone God can help you get closer to?

Humbled by God’s Power

[22] It is the Lord who sits above the circle of the earth. And compared to him, people are like grasshoppers. He rolled open the skies like a piece of cloth. He stretched out the skies like a tent to sit under. [23] He takes away the power of rulers. He makes the world’s leaders completely worthless.

[24] They are like plants that are planted in the ground. But before they can send their roots into the ground, God blows on the “plants”; they become dead and dry, and the wind blows them away like straw. [25] The Holy One says, “Can you compare me to anyone? No one is equal to me.”

Isaiah 40:22-25 ERV

It’s okay to not be okay

When we see what God is able to do compared to what we are able to do, it’s easy to see how much we need his help, and why it’s worth getting.

God’s role

Do you see God’s influence in the world? What about your life? Why do we often resist seeing his influence?

Humbled by God’s Love

[6] When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. [7] Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. [8] But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:6-8 NLT

Undeserved love

God sent Jesus, his son, to die for us, even though we didn’t do anything to deserve it. This was to show us how much he loves us.

Accepting the love

How have you seen God’s love in your life? What do you think God wants us to do in response to his love?

What is the most loving thing someone has done for you, without you asking? How did that make you feel?

Humbled by God’s Example

[12] After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? [13] You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. [14] And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. [15] I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

[16] I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. [17] Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

John 13:12-17 NLT

Humility shows love

Hours before being sent to the cross, Jesus washes his followers feet. This was to teach us that nobody is too important to love and serve their friends.

Following his lead

How can you serve the people around you? How do you think this will make them feel loved?

Decisions

Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.

Ezra Taft Benson

• Talk it through: How do you need God to help you humbly love those around you?
• Take action: What are you going to change about your relationship with God so you can become more humble?

Walk through step by step what it would take to change. The leader should think through some of this ahead of time. Be as detailed as possible.

• What steps will this decision involve?
• When will you do them?
• Possible pitfalls?
• Who will you ask to help hold you accountable?

Next steps

This section is meant to be done together over the next 1-2 weeks. Set up times to do some of these together or to do them separately and then talk about what you learned.

• Read together: Read through the book of John. Ask how was Jesus humble? Why was he humble?
• Watch together: The Dark Knight Rises – after watching, talk with some friends about what you learned
• Do together: Do something together that will take humility (weekend volunteering, cleaning someone’s house, washing a parent’s car, etc.)

Further study

• Philippians 2:5-11 NIV
• 1 Peter 5:5-6 TPT
• Luke 18:10-14 NLT
• Acts 20:24 NLT
• Matthew 23:8-12 NLT