Humility vs. Insecurity
Dear Beloved,
Can you think back to a time when you received a compliment and couldn't respond? Or maybe you turned the tables and said, Whatttt?? Your shoes are better! Then after a couple of rounds of no yours are, things get awkward, and you both laugh until someone changes the topic. Or they say, Awe! You're so humble! This happens to me all the time, where a person will mistake my awkwardness for humility.
I feel like not enough people acknowledge that there is a difference between the words humility and insecurity. When I say insecurity, I mean the awkwardness of not knowing how to take credit for something because you think I could be better. Or you think that it is inadequate.
There have been days where I'll have to correct people who reach out to me with, "you have such a great talent and are so inspiring!" And when I struggle to find word's they call me humble. It's time for a reality check.
I am not humble when I shrink back and freeze up when you compliment me. I am a perfectionist, so I feel like the compliments are undeserved. I feel insecure about my work like it's always short of my expectation. Like I could have done so much better. Don't mislabel insecurity as humility.
Often, people associate humility with being shy or being an introvert. But humility has to be a never-ending John 3:30 mindset. "He must become greater; I must become less." Humility is a posture of the heart. It's stating that I will do everything I can to please him because he has done everything to save me. Not for recognition. Not for fame. But because God saved me.
However, just because I am not the most humble person on the block doesn't mean that I can't work on it. Turning insecurity into humility is not an easy thing. It requires letting go of the expectations. Letting go of the need to control the situation. And accepting that God did a great work through you. (And if you let him have control... It will be great.) And that without God, we wouldn't be great, and therefore He gets all the credit.
Not only do we have to stop confusing humility and insecurity in regards to other people, but we have to act on it too. Don't confuse your insecurity with humility in your daily actions.
