Humility is a tricky subject. I always say, once you think you have it, you've lost it. Pride is a sin that all can fall for easily. So often, I had thought that humility meant to think lowly of ourselves and to think of everyone as above us. This is true, in one aspect; but it is not the main point. To be humble means to know your place.
As a servant of God, we are called to serve others; so when we know our place as servant of others, we do think of everyone else above us. This does not mean that we are constantly putting ourselves down, but that we remember what our place is before God and before others. If we have done good, we have the right to thank someone for the compliment, as long as we do so properly. To just insult yourself or discard every compliment will move into false pride, which is just a prideful thought process of trying to look humble before others.
1 Peter 5:6 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you." When we remember our place and act accordingly, God will elevate our position; but, if we cannot understand what it means to be low and to act accordingly, we will only grow more prideful as we become elevated. In order to be humble, we must know our place.
Well, what if we do not know our place? What if we are in a new environment or had never thought of this before? Follow Luke 14:8-11, which says, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may says to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Remember, being humble is not about brushing aside compliments or saying how great you aren't. It's about knowing your place and living accordingly.
-D
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