Humility is sometimes measured by how losses are handled. Humble men and women don’t make excuses. They don’t point fingers. They accept that even a valiant effort sometimes isn’t enough. On other occasions it’s measured by how victories—or potential victories—are handled. Humble people realize God is the ultimate source of victory. Instead of gloating, or crushing an opponent, they treat them with honor.

If ever someone had a reason to grab victory and gloat it was David. King Saul had chased him from the palace and pursued him like “ravenous beasts” (Psalm 57:4), spreading nets and digging pits for him to fall into. David’s only crime was devotion to God and the courageous defeat of Goliath. Saul’s problem was an intense jealousy that blinded him to David’s love for both God and himself.

While hiding in a dark cave David encountered the unexpected. Saul’s 3,000-man army waited outside while the king entered the cave to relieve himself. David’s band of warriors told him God had finally given the king into his hands. Instead of taking Saul’s life, David quietly took a corner of the king’s robe. A few minutes later, after the king had left the cave, David stood beneath the sun and told the ruler, “Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord’s anointed’” (1 Samuel 24:10).

Great and godly men and women are humble. And those who are humble treat even their enemies with honor.

_{Photo by John Finn, CC}