Trials, Humility and Honor in the Bible

“But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same” Mathew 26:35.

If the disciples had not experienced this painful, eye-opening trial described in this verse and the surrounding passage, they would’ve continued to think of themselves as faithful, loyal followers of Christ.

And this, in fact, was not the case. To read the whole passage for context, click here.

This knowledge they were about to gain about themselves was very humbling. Contrary to popular ideas on the subject, being humble doesn’t necessarily mean having a low opinion of yourself.

Humility and Honor in the Bible: An Accurate View of Self

Rather, it means to have an accurate view of yourself (and others) that is free of distortions.

This experience the disciples had enabled them to learn truths about themselves they would not otherwise have learned.

This is one of the great benefits of embracing challenges. Without them, we will continue to believe lofty things about ourselves that may not be true.

But if we embrace a challenge and fail, we will know ourselves in a greater way. We will have a better understanding of who we really are. And what it means to be humble.

Proverbs 18:12 tells us: “Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor”.

The Painful Truth

And the way we become humble is by going through difficult, challenging experiences that reveal the painful truth about ourselves. And help us to know ourselves for who we really are.

Once we are sufficiently humbled by the truth, God can honor us.

The disciples were going to be exalted once they were filled with the Spirit in a few weeks time. They would be endowed with power from on high.

They would preach powerfully, bringing thousands into the kingdom. And heal the sick, raise the dead and do many glorious miracles on a whole other level. Ultimately, they would birth the Christian church.

But in order to be honored like this, they first had to be humbled. They had to know themselves accurately. So, when the glory came, they would understand it was not them, but God.

Peter, it seems, knew himself less well than the other disciples. And when he learned the truth about himself, it was probably more humbling for him than the rest, since his falling away was more pronounced.

This may have been because Peter had a greater ministry and more glory ahead of him than the others. So, it was necessary.

The painful truths these men learned about themselves when they fell away would’ve still been true had they not been exposed by the trial. They just wouldn’t have known about them.

And their pride would’ve remained intact. They would’ve continued to believe grandiose things about themselves that weren’t true. And they would not have come to know themselves for who they really were.

Preparation for the Glory to Come

In other words, they would not have been humbled. And would not have had the necessary preparation for the glory to come.

It was not the fact that the disciples insisted they would not fall away that made them the opposite of humble, or arrogant. It was the fact that they insisted they wouldn’t fall away but did.

If there had been truth to the claim they made, there would have been no discrepancy between what they believed about themselves and reality. They would’ve proven that they did, in fact, know themselves accurately.

What It Means to Be Arrogant

And they would’ve been humble, despite making a lofty claim. It’s not arrogant to believe great things about ourselves if they’re true. What’s arrogant is to believe great things about ourselves that aren’t true.

The apostle Paul tells us not to “think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” Romans 12: 3. 

Notice, he doesn’t tell us not to think highly of ourselves. He just doesn’t want us to think more highly than we should. In other words, he wants our opinion of ourselves to be according to truth, or reality.

Jesus said many lofty things about himself. But He wasn’t arrogant, because they were true.

He said, for example, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. . . “I am the light of the world”. . . “I am the bread of life“. . . John 14:6; 8:12; 6:35.

Jesus Spoke Lofty Things About Himself

These are some pretty high-minded things to believe about yourself. But He wasn’t arrogant, because they were true.

If Peter would’ve believed these things about himself, it would’ve been the height of arrogance, because they weren’t true.

To be humble simply means to have an accurate view of yourself, to know yourself for who you really are.

Trials help us to know the truth about ourselves. And the truth often hurts. But once we know ourselves, we are in a position to be honored.

Trials are sometimes compared to the refining process that precious metals go through. Because the heat the metal is subjected to brings the alloy or impurities to the surface, where they can be seen and removed.

If the metal is never subjected to this process, the impurities will not be exposed. But exposing the impurities so they can be removed is necessary if it’s going to be valuable and useful.

King David boldly proclaimed, “you have tried my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tested me and You find nothing” Psalm 17:3.

In other words, you’ve heated that smelting pot until it’s red hot. And no impurities or alloy have risen to the surface. I’m purified and refined and ready for use.

(Now the good news is, the refiner doesn’t continue to refine the metal indefinitely. But only until the alloy is removed. There would be no point in continuing the process after that).

David’s claim is also an example of a belief that may appear arrogant at first glance. But if it was true, so far from arrogant, it’s actually an expression of humility.

Humility and Honor in the Bible: Know Thyself

Because as we’ve seen, to be humble is to see yourself accurately. To be honored, we must first be humbled, which requires that we know ourselves.

It’s the trials and challenges we go through that reveal the truth about ourselves. And cause us to know ourselves more fully.

If we were never subjected to a challenge or trial, we would never know ourselves in any depth. We would not be humbled. . . or honored. Trials > Humility > Honor.

As a little aside, I believe the value of fasting is found in this principle. When we’re weak from hunger, we will see what we’re like in the fire, so to speak. And who we are when we’re weak is the real us.

So, in this way, fasting humbles us and prepares us for greater usefulness. When we’re mature, we’ll be able to say along with king David, “you have tested me and You find nothing”.

It’s not what we’re like on good days when everything is going our way that reveals the truth about ourselves. It’s what we’re like when we’re sick and tired and nothing is going our way. That’s when the truth is seen.

Humility and Honor in the Bible: Don’t Miss the Point

When we excuse our sin because we’re having a bad day or don’t feel well or are hormonal, we are missing the point of those experiences.

We have struggles so we can see the truth about ourselves that was always there but concealed. Then we can know ourselves in greater depth, be humbled and ultimately changed.

To read another post similar to Trials, Humility and Honor in the Bible, see What Does It Mean to Humble Yourself? Or for another recent post, you may like Benefits of Discipline in the Bible.

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