William Hazlitt, the brilliant 19th-century writer, put his finger on the problem with pride when he observed that it “erects a little kingdom of its own, and acts as sovereign in it”. When we are puffed up with pride, we take total charge and push God out, together with everyone else. The proud person might look impressive for a while but, as the writer of Proverbs observes, sooner or later they end in humiliation.

The alternative way is humility. This is the key to all of God’s blessings, so we need to be absolutely clear what it is. The trouble with the word humility is that we often confuse it with false humility, which is horribly unattractive. Anyone who claims to be humble is almost certainly false. The humble person doesn’t expend energy thinking about themselves, and if they were ever identified as being humble, they would deny it. True humility is not about denying that we have gifts and abilities, but having a readiness to admit that we have failings and shortcomings.

The disciples were constantly seeking to push themselves forward. They were interested in who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In response, Jesus could have given them a lecture about the virtues of humility, but instead he called a little child and placed him in front of them. He said: “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4).

Jesus’ words couldn’t be clearer. Humility is the only way to make progress in the Christian life. Only when we acknowledge that Jesus is the King of our lives will we find his peace, love and joy. Building our own little empire may look clever for a while, but it is bound to end in disaster.

How do you think you could grow in humility?

Lord Jesus Christ, I acknowledge you as the Lord of my life. Help me constantly to decrease that you may increase. Amen