Humility vs. Confidence or Both?

It’s easy to mistake humility for being passive and unsure of one’s self. On the other side of the spectrum, it’s easy to mistake confidence for arrogance. In actuality, confidence and humility go hand-in-hand while arrogance and a lack of confidence are opposites on a negative spectrum.

Humility comes from having an honest inventory of your skills in relation to your potential, as well as having an understanding of where those skills came from. Many may make a mistake in thinking that because we earned something, then we can choose to feel proud about it. While it appears seemingly innocent to be proud, allow me to elaborate.

“Proud” is a delicate word and can hold different meanings to different people. There’s a healthy balance between being content with what you’ve done in comparison to having a kind of pride that may cause a feeling of self-entitlement or superiority in comparison to others.

This life we’re given is a gift to enjoy, not a competition. While there are people who try hard, and others don’t, the race is ultimately against yourself and what you can do. When all is said and done, we benefit nothing from trying to be better than others.

God gives us rewards throughout our life that we wouldn’t have had unless He gave us those rewards in the first place. This doesn’t mean that we have to be shy and uneasy about enjoying those rewards - but we would best benefit from enjoying those rewards fully while respecting that everything comes from God.

Confidence, in its best form, is paired with humility. Humility keeps us grounded and helps prevent us from carelessly abusing or throwing away the gifts we receive. Confidence is gained by doing the right thing and doing the most we can with what we have been given. We should be confident to move forward, but be keen to remember that no amount of success in this life is made by our hands alone. God is the one who provides it.

Without respecting what we have, we tend to easily throw things away. I’ve noticed that I often don’t usually appreciate things that come easily or free to me as much as I would appreciate something I worked hard for or paid for. However, this isn’t always the case, as shown by God’s ultimate gift to die for our forgiveness, which came for free. Life demands respect, give-and-take, and humility to keep the benefits in place.

Everyone would benefit from having a proper perspective of whom he or she is and what they would like to achieve. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying ourselves, however, understanding and gratefulness go a long way in ensuring that what we have will be maintained and respected.

For further related reading, please check out: Bigger and Better.