Humility, it has been said, is the chief of virtues. This may be true. However, humility in the Bible isn’t merely a virtue. That is, it isn’t just an admirable character trait nor a pleasant personality. Humility is actually an eschatological conviction.
Humility, in the Biblical tradition, is rooted in a deep conviction that the words of the prophets and of the Messiah are true. Specifically, to act humbly is to act with the assurance that there will be a day of justice and vindication. Humility is the way one responds to legitimate injustice in light of what God has announced is coming in the future (I Pet. 2:19). It doesn’t in any way legitimize injustice or normalize painful experiences. It simply places them in context to the Day when God settles accounts. Things won’t continue like this forever. God won’t allow His creation to drift endlessly; He will come back and fix the mess. When He does, the world will be divided into those who have exalted themselves and need humiliation and those who have humbled themselves and are deserving of exaltation.
One of the cornerstone teachings of the Messiah was that what was done in secret, God would pay back openly one day. This should warn sinners to repent, but also encourage the humble to bear up under suffering since they know that they have a better and lasting possession coming. So, the humble response both modeled and taught by Jesus was anchored not in a desire to be a better person, but in the conviction that God would make things right one day.
God and the Scriptures encourage humility because humility is the practical/relational expression of faith in God to do what he said. If I believe that a day is coming when God will bring down the oppressor, draw near to the broken and grant justice to the oppressed, then this belief informs a life of forgiveness and humility.
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