humble

In the Letter to the Philippians 4:12 (NABRE), Paul writes about living in “humble circumstances.” Humility has been described as among the most important Christian virtues, and it is indeed worth cultivating.

In this passage from the Letter to the Philippians, the word translated as “humble circumstances” is the verb ταπεινόω (tapeinoo), which means “to make or to bring low” and comes from a word literally meaning base or low to the ground. Likewise, the Latin root for our word humility, humus, literally means “earth” or “soil.”

In the ancient world, God was thought to be heavenly or of the sky. The word lofty has such connotations. Consider what it means to cultivate an attitude that is the opposite of this in our relationship with God.

What do you think humility looks like?

related topics: humility; Letter to the Philippians

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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