Crowning the Humble

 

“For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.”

—Psalm 149:4

Occasionally, my very wise father would listen carefully to what someone would say to him and later declare to me, his young son, “That man is humbly proud.”

I admit that I puzzled over that statement once I became old enough to think about what the word “humble” meant. How in the world could someone actually be “humbly proud”?

At first, I attributed the irony of that statement to my father’s lack of formal education—he dropped out of school part way through the tenth grade. But, as I grew even older, I saw many signs that my dad was really a very smart, even brilliant, man. He had made it a point to become a voracious reader. He had a wide range of interests. Trained as a journeyman carpenter who later became a very successful salesman of hotel and restaurant supplies, he had great skill with both his hands and also with his ability to engage people in conversation.

So, what about this “humbly proud” idea?

The word “humble” is defined as “not proud or haughty; not arrogant or assertive; reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission. In contrast, the word “proud” is defined as “feeling or showing pride: as having or displaying excessive self-esteem, much pleased, exultant; having proper self-respect; marked by stateliness, magnificent; giving reason for pride, glorious; vigorous, spirited.”

Could someone have the qualities of both these words? If someone spoke in a non-arrogant, non-assertive way that gave deference or submission and, yet, spoke in a way that displayed pride in some event in a stately and self-respecting way, then it seems as if a person could indeed by “humbly proud.” In fact, “humble pride” is probably the very best way to be proud.

A parent could certain be “humbly proud” of the accomplishments of his or her child. A mentor could be “humbly proud” of the achievement of someone that he or she had helped along the way to greater maturity and greater encouragement in reaching a goal.

As Christians, we can, and must, be “humbly proud” that before the foundation of the earth God chose us to belong to Himself. We did not deserve His choosing us. There is nothing in us that would commend us to God, nor anything in us that makes us in any way worthy of His love. Yet, we can feel justifiable pride that God loves us enough to choose us. Thus, we can celebrate, with “humble pride” that we belong to the Creator of Universe, the God above all gods, the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Psalmist expressed this thought of “humble pride” in these words recorded in Psalm 149:4:

For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

Let us this new day seek to maintain a “humbly proud” attitude when we consider what God has done for us. Humble, in that nothing that He has done came about as a result of anything that we did, nor that we deserved. Proud, in that He did choose us to be recipients of His mercy, grace, and love—and that He has given us a charge to be His ambassadors to everyone who crosses the pathway of our lives.

 

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