Throughout Christ’s life and ministry, humility was at the core of His own being and a particularly strong area of focus in His teachings.

How does one learn to be humble?

Life, I have found, is often about a balance. How do we tread the thin line of walking between humility and confidence? How do we also encounter others with a strong sense of humility and realize that someone may in fact be wiser, stronger, faster and better than we are? Surely being too strong on either side of this fence will lead to some sticky situations down the road. That is why we should learn how to walk this fine line and learn the difference between overbearing confidence and meek humility.

The challenge is teaching and equipping those of us with little confidence to have some and grow some. And for those with too much confidence, the challenge is to instill a sliver of humility.

I see this challenge quite a bit when it comes to our children. How do we instill in them enough confidence without allowing them to become overconfident and lack humility?

We cannot walk this balance of humility and confidence alone. Certainly, we need others to encourage, to humble, to strengthen, to correct and to remind us when we are on the right track and when we begin to lean too strongly to one side or the other.

Christ encourages us to focus on others. Jesus tells us that we should invite the disenfranchised, the lonely, the outcast, the homeless and the least-thought-of people to our gatherings.

The essence of humility is thinking of others, not yourself. Similarly, the essence of confidence is faith and belief in oneself, but not to an overpowering or dominating degree.

In the end, all we should care about is God’s opinion of us. We shouldn’t worry about where we stand in comparison to others, and by doing so we can gain both humility and confidence. For, if we are not worried about what others might think of us, our confidence may grow. But if we do not worry about others at all, then our humility will shrink.

We need to find a balance, and God is one who can help us get to that point, whether we even want to or not. Then, amidst this balance we will find true tranquility.