“I suck, I suck, I suck, I suck, I suck.” Every artist has this voice in their head at one time or another, as does every Christian. We constantly remind ourselves that we are not enough. We’re so quick to recall our “failed works” or “bad deeds,” and we obsess over how, once again, our talents have fallen short, or our righteousness could have, and should have, been better. This is the voice of self-deprecation, and it’s everywhere.

“I am amazing, I am incredible, I don’t need anyone or anything because I have all the talents, power, and strength needed to be the best.” Every artist has this voice in their head at one time or another, as does every Christian. This is harder to admit for most of us, but this voice sometimes can be even louder and more present than the previous one. We build ourselves up with fluffy words about our own artistic genius. We play the “who’s a better Christian” by wearing our mission work and our memorized verses around our neck like some medal. This is the voice of self-righteousness, and it’s everywhere.

These two voices exist on the opposite ends of the spectrum, and somewhere in-between them lies the land of humility. Humility is difficult to define, and even more difficult to cultivate. Humility exists somewhere between self-deprecating and self-righteous, and it only emerges once we take ‘self’ out.

Humility is living in constant awareness that we are not most important, God is.

Humility is also living in constant awareness that we are not un-important, because God has chosen us, and wants to use out gifts and talents to spread the message of Jesus to this broken world.

Humility is living in constant awareness that we have failed, sinned, and fallen short of greatness.

Humility is also living in constant awareness that we have been cleansed from that sin by the grace of Jesus, and those failures, both in art and in faith, only exist in order for us to learn from them and to help serve God and make the world a better place.

Humility is living in constant awareness that we are not the best, but the power of the One who is truly best lives inside us, which means we will never be the worst again.