The Importance of Detecting False Humility

So I finish off this Sunday with yet another contemplation. Today I thought that with all the character building posts I have written, I need to identify different things that affect us from really walking with Integrity. Humility is a key character that we should cultivate on a daily basis but in all this we must understand that there are also counterfeit behaviours that undermine the whole concept of upholding ones integrity. This is where we have to learn to detect the subtle bad behaviours that some people carry that “appear” upstanding in the presence of people but in essence, I call these individuals “actors” that know how to act the part but don’t practice actually walking the part. My focus will be on False Humility and how to detect it. I am going to state for the record that I’m just going to speak based on my personal experience and you are welcome to agree or disagree that’s fine. I’m just stating things from what I have observed from my perspective and will use biblical scriptures as references since I am discussing it from a Christian point of view. Even if you aren’t a Christian, I am sure this post will help you anyway in regards to identifying the kinds of people that operate with this behavior. You need to be able to discern these individuals in your life because they cause so much chaos that they break friendships, destroy marriages, families and businesses as well. Keep that in mind as you read my post.    

So what is False Humility?

I’m not going to say that I’m an expert on this topic but to me I think  it’s a subtle form of self-righteousness; and yes it is also tied to PRIDE yet again.  Think about it; if False Humility isn’t Humility then it is the exact opposite of it clearly by definition. However, in this case it is more of an “act” of humility rather than the true heart-conditioned practice of it. People who operate in False Humility take on the “appearance” and perform the actions characteristic of a humble person but do not believe in being humble as a heart conditioned decision. In a nutshell, it’s a form of pretentiousness. This is why in the church you will find that there will be those that will have to form of “Godliness but deny it’s power”(2 Timothy 3:5). In the Bible, we are even instructed on how to deal with these people when we encounter them in our lives in the same verse and that is to TURN AWAY from such people [ also observe (Matthew 7:21 & 23)].

Now that I have defined it let’s start to analyze it for what it is and what it is NOT. We can view it in the light of everyday life. Have you ever encountered a person in your social life that seemed to be “good” on the outside but later found out that they really had a bad/rotten personality behind closed doors? You should question why some people portray one personality in front of people at one moment and then show up as a completely different person in a different environment. Why the double-standard personality? Why are they one way in one instance and completely different in another instance?

This is because a person practicing False Humility is double-minded (James 1:8) in all their ways and they are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm individuals (Revelation 3:16) which makes them difficult to detect because they are fence-sitters that seem agreeable in the presence of an audience and yet in their heart they are tricksters that will do anything to get what they can get out of you. They care more about their reputation than upholding their integrity because they lack moral standards and choose to be deceitful as a way of life. Make no mistake in that they know the game and know how to play it too so you can identify even with male and female relationships where they are identified as “players”.  Players always use this excuse as a justification for their infidelities in that they work with a “Don’t hate the Player, hate the game” philosophy. They always operate with a “How far can I go” mentality and never think of long term consequences for their actions. You may even suffer betrayal at their hands and be wounded by their actions so the purpose of this post is to expose their nature and probably help you identify such people working against you in your life.

False Humility is Pretentiousness. These people know how to pretend to do the right thing in front of others but it’s all for the sake of maintaining their VANITY. Let’s make it clear what I’m referring to here. I’m not talking about people who honestly try to work earnestly at correcting their bad behaviours and tendencies be it in the presence of people or not, because such people are aware of their weaknesses and work hard to better themselves. In this post, I’m referring to those that know they have bad behaviours and habits but choose to conceal their sinful nature in front of others that would bring them to be accountable for their actions. They do not take responsibility for their actions and try hard at hiding their behaviour by pretending to be reformed when it’s still an act. They don’t work on their weakness, they work at nurturing, facilitating, and cultivating their bad habits and inclinations while on the down low. They fear those that have the power to stop them from continuing in that psychotic behavior and that is why they have doctorates in the art of deception. They prefer to continue sinning behind closed doors but will portray a different picture that is agreeable to others in order to:

1) appear acceptable to the masses and receive favour from others by maintaining this FACADE;

2) continue sinning behind closed doors while others aren’t watching…but God is watching…hmmm (clearly; they don’t fear GOD); and

3) avoid confrontation, rebuke, correction and PUNISHMENT for bad behaviour if “discovered” (they are unteachable by nature and lack remorse which is also pathologically psychotic in behaviour). You will notice criminals such as serial killers have this train of thinking when they commit their crimes such as the Green River Killer.

The only way for a person to continue operating in false humility is by avoiding being discovered by someone who is able to discern their pretense. When they sense someone that is able to discern their true nature, they work hard to destroy those that do in order to continue walking in their deception. Pretenders do that by slandering, removing these people out of your lives by isolating you from them, and can go as far as killing people just to hide their true nature. Remember that they are pathologically PSYCHOTIC. Think of the types of people that abuse people physically and act normal in front of others; think of serial killers, think of boyfriends/or girlfriends that have possessive and obsessive behaviours; stalkers; harassers play games too in the work place; etc, these types of individuals mask their evil motivations in front of the masses in order to continue operating in that behaviour for as long as possible. I find that the truly humble can become victims of these pretentious individuals because they are able to discern these individuals easily and are targeted by these fakesters FIRST because with humility carries wisdom and that wisdom is enough to stop these deceivers from continuing to deceive others by EXPOSING them for who they TRULY are. What better way than to remove those that are able to discern these pretenders.

False Humility is DECEPTION wearing a mask. Why would I say that? If you pretend to be something that you are not, you are indeed wearing a mask that conceals your true nature. You find that the “Pretenders”  in your life could be friends, co-workers, people you visit in your places of worship, family members, and can even be found in politicians if you want to go far in this analysis. They KNOW how to deceive people by failing to observe:

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

A typical characteristic of those that walk in False Humility are those that do things to please others for selfish reasons because they are driven to fulfill their evil motivations to get ahead in life. If they have to suck up to you just to “make it” in the world, they will do it. They will even do the things that they HATE doing and pretend to love the job just to get into your good graces so that you can validate them as legitimately “good” and “humble” people. Be weary when you announce their “humility” in front of a crowd because that is what fuels their pride even more. They will feel proud of their so-called “humility” which will fuel their ego and you will notice soon enough that they will have a tendency of “acting” SELF-RIGHTEOUS and HAUGHTY! They will think that they are better than the next person and this is where I find that some people end up shocked by these individuals because they cannot understand where that behaviour came from. Let me spell it out for you, IT WAS ALWAYS THERE ALL ALONG BUT IT WAS WEARING A MASK OF HUMILITY IN ORDER TO DECEIVE YOU! However, if you want to test when these people break their masks…give them a little bit of POWER by promoting them into positions and the higher they climb, their masks will start to crumble because PRIDE hates going unnoticed at a high place of elevation (Proverbs 16:18).

False Humility is disguised Hypocrisy. Ok so now I’m getting deep into this. Those who fake humility know how to do certain things masterfully. They are deceptive characters that are:

vain; selfish; they DO NOT Practice what they preach; they know how to slander (Proverbs 11:9) someone quickly in order to protect being “discovered” for their hypocrisy; they are conceited because  they love being praised by people for their talents as “actors”; and are paranoid about being revealed for their true nature which makes them cowards to the truth; therefore, they are LIARS and they love lying. 

The weakness of a person who operates in False Humility is EXPOSURE. When a hypocrite is caught RED-HANDED, they are not necessarily sorry for their False actions and fake acting skills, but they are deeply sorry for BEING CAUGHT. Please understand that False Humility is a characteristic of PRIDE. Even when exposed, they are not necessarily repentant for their actions because they have cultivated a mindset that enjoyed deceiving others and getting away with it.

WORD OF CAUTION: Do not assume that the initial display of remorse from a person acting in False Humility is an act of true repentance and sorrow for their conniving behaviour because from what I have seen and experienced, such individuals seek to deceive you to the very end even when they are caught red-handed in the act because they have nurtured a heart that loves to continue deceiving others even when they are exposed. These fakesters know NO bounds and are quick to betray you because they have no concept of loyalty with their peers.

False Humility is Self-driven ambition. It must never be mistaken for selflessness. False Humility is selfish characteristically and it strives at self-preservation. The idea of “Keeping up Appearances” is its Modus Operandi (Latin: Mode/method of operation). Make no mistake in that it is over-confident about its abilities to maintain its status quo on the down low, but those that are practictioners of this character and behaviour don’t realize that you maybe able to fool a lot of people most of the time, but you can’t fool everyone ALL of the time.

False Humility is PRIDE. It is the exact opposite of Humility and yet hypocritical people work hard at pretending to be humble. You will find that they can easily betray you when they face trouble because their default personality is to opt for self-preservation when the time calls for it. Down below I have attached a comparison of Pride and Humility to give you a general scope of the difference between them in action.

My Last Note: What have I learned about False Humility? It’s one thing to identify it and analyze the behaviours and traits of a person operating in this way, but essentially, we have to recognize that we must avoid becoming such a person. Individuals who practice False Humility have psychotic pathological behaviours that aim at self-preservation to continue doing evil things while no one else is noticing. This is characteristic of criminal behaviours found in serial killers and can also be identified with people in your everyday life. They are good “actors” but even good actors have patterns of behaviour that make them easy to identify. Remember that False Humility is PRIDE in disguise of Humility. It is a deceptive mask and is over-confident in its abilities to deceive others so it’s up to you to recognize the signs of such behaviour and literally, TURN AWAY from them when you do. They lack remorse for their actions and do not know the meaning of TRUE REPENTANCE. You have to kick these people to the curb once you are able to identify them or they will wreak havoc in your life if you entertain their behaviours. Remember that they don’t care for you at ALL. They only care about themselves and what they can get out of you so avoid them as much as possible and don’t ignore your gut feelings or instincts about such people that display such traits. I hope this post helps you weed out these crafty characters in your life to avoid unnecessary pain and danger. They are Stumbling blocks that keep those who are truly humble from reaching the top and achieving their dreams. Don’t let them be dream killers and don’t entertain their behaviour anymore. You will save yourself from losing so much of what you have to these thieves of time, money, and emotions.