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Rom 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

"See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright-- but the righteous will live by his faith--" Hab 2:4

"This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and
contrite in spirit, and
trembles at my word." Is 66:2

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!" Php 2:5-8

In God's program to develop humility in us He often subjects us to humiliating circumstances or otherwise provides sources of humilation in our life. Thus our goal should not necessarily be to remove or avoid the thorns of life. For these are necessary to some extent to the health of our spiritual well-being in helping us develop and maintain humility, which is most essential to Christian character. What are your sources of humiliation? Your spouse? Your children? Your social or financial or marital status? Your physical flaws? God has many ways to bring humiliation into our lives. What are we afraid of? Perhaps those very things are the things God will bring into our lives in order to humble us. But perhaps we shouldn't necessarily consider that a bad thing. For it is healthy to have sources of humiliation.

But if you lack sources of humiliation then you've got a problem. A nervous system reacts with pain if something is wrong physically. A conscience reacts with a feeling of guilt if sin is committed. A humble character similarly is contrite and reacts with lowliness and self-debasing when pride springs up. But the proud person may not recognize pride in themselves. And those who are not subject to humilation tend to develop pride. Thus for example Jesus  speaks of the pride of the wealthy. For wealth can be a source of pride as poverty a source of humiliation. Indeed those religious leaders who had Christ crucified had too many sources of pride and too few sources of humiliation. And a source of humiliation for one person may be a source of pride for another. What are your sources of pride? Your family? Your social or financial status? Your strength or beauty? Your position of authority? There can be many sources of pride as there are sources of humiliation.

Part of Jesus' ministry, and indeed a part of Christian ministry, is to humiliate the proud. Why did they seek to kill him? What was the real reason? It was because he humiliated them. Yet as the great physician he was simply giving them the medicine of humiliation which they were in need of if they were ever to be saved.

• Do you respond to rebuke by getting angry or by giving careful consideration to the rebuke?
• If someone disagrees with your opinion, do you demonize and slander the person, or do you do you try to understand their point of view?
• Do you read the Bible looking to obey it, with an application oriented mindset, or do you try to read into your own ideas and your own chosen lifestyle? Do you find that your study is dominated by trying to get around what it says?
• Do you submit to legitimate human authority figures as the Bible directs?
• If you are a wife, do you accept and practice your God-given role of being subordinate to your husband?
• If you are a women do you accept and practice the politically incorrect gender specific commands in the New Testament?
• For those who speak and teach spiritual things, is your speech and reasoning dominated by your own words and ideas, or those of the Bible?
• When you hear the phrase "Word of God" do your own words and ideas come to mind or does the Bible come to mind?
• Are you generally afraid of what people think of you? (This indicates pride!)
• This is generally a misconception. It is not characteristic of Biblical humility for one to place a high value on other people's opinion of them. The humble are more concerned about doing what is right than doing things to make themselves more popular. Thus "the righteous are as bold as a lion." Prov 28:1 Confidence in God is characteristic of Biblical humility. "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."Heb 10:35
• When you think of leading someone to Christ, do you tend to replace the "gospel" with your own personal testimony?
• Do you talk more about Christ of the Bible or more about yourself and your own personal experience of Christ?
• Do you tend to pray more for yourself or more for others?
• Are you involved in regularly meeting the practical needs of others?
• Concerning you secular career and ministry objective, are you trying to make something of yourself, or are you trying to make nothing of yourself? (Joh 3:30 "He must become greater; I must become less.") Is your objective to serve, or simply to make a name for yourself?