Christian humility is an important quality if you’re looking to write from a place of faith and service, but it’s often hard to get right because feelings like perfectionism and self-doubt get in the way. As writers, we’re called to infuse our work with the same humility that Jesus exemplified and meet our audience where they are. In this article, I’m sharing how to integrate Christian humility into your writing practice, so you can communicate more effectively and faithfully.
In college, I attended a class on the British novel. There were only ten students, including myself, and we blazed through a book a week. These included early novels like Pamela to showstoppers like Pride and Prejudice. The lot of us were young literature nerds, a little too eager to discuss the brushstrokes of great writing. Our professor (who we secretly, and with giggles, called by his first name), was intimidating: well-traveled, well-rounded, and well-read.
One day, our professor taught us a new word: turgid. The word means unnecessarily pompous or excessively embellished in language. His vocabulary lesson felt ironic for two reasons. First—the word itself is quite turgid. Second—so was he.
At least, his communication style was. We students were stunned, but often estranged, by his wild turns of phrase, his much-too-obscure word choice, and his triple-barreled questions that were almost impossible to untangle. He spoke to impress—and it had an unusual effect on the classroom dynamic. Discussions stopped short and fell flat. I spent each class trying to decipher his questions about the literature, usually leaving the classroom dissatisfied and carrying a distinct feeling: He is so smart, and I’m not.
Christian Humility Honors Connection
As communicators, whether you’re teaching, writing, or simply talking, it’s easy to fall into this trap (what I like to think of as the turgidness temptation). A small part of us—the human part—wants our audience to see us as smart, experienced, or extra faithful. But for writers, there’s no greater act of compassion than meeting your readers where they’re at: this is the essence of writing with humility.
We often think of humility as the absence of pride—but it’s much more than that. Christian humility honors connection before impression. It involves looking beyond oneself and having freedom from excessive self-regard. Humility is any honest endeavor to pay attention to others.[i] C.S. Lewis wrote that the truly humble man “will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking of himself at all.”[ii] So, how can we, as writers, infuse Christian humility into our written words?
Learn Humility from Jesus’ Example
First, we can look to our greatest example of humility: Jesus Christ, who, by any measurement, was one of history’s most effective communicators.
Jesus spoke according to the language and understanding of His listeners. When the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to the Roman government, Jesus’ answer was effective because it related to their understanding of political power, religious obligation, and Roman rule (Matt. 22:15–22 KJV). When He called His followers, many of whom were fishermen, Jesus used a simple parable to help them understand the meaning and implications of discipleship: “I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19).
Jesus used clear, direct words. “I am the Light of the world,” simply illustrates an idea that might have otherwise been inaccessible to the mortal mind (John 8:12). The universal concepts of darkness and light became a vehicle to express Jesus’s unique spiritual role in the work of salvation.
Jesus understood His audience intimately and spoke compassionately. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to Thomas, who doubted the testimony of the other disciples. Jesus extended a loving invitation to Thomas: touch His wounds and believe. Jesus knew Thomas well—He knew what would help Thomas learn the difference between seeing and believing (John 20: 24–29).
How to Write with Christian Humility
Jesus was a master communicator, and we writers can follow suit. Engage in humble writing by knowing your readers, fostering compassion for them, speaking to their understanding, using clear and direct language, extending invitations with love, and writing with a purpose and a desire to be a servant to your reader.
Grab a pen and paper and start practicing with these six challenges.
6 Ways to Write with Christian Humility
1. Study Humility
Study the meaning of Christian humility and read Jesus’s interactions with others. Reflect on why you think His communication style was effective and write down how you want to mirror it.
2. Picture Your Reader
Writing is never an independent activity. Writing without thinking of the other is like facing the wall while you tell a story—with your back turned to your listeners.[iii] Decide who you’re writing to. Select someone you know well, who you hope reads your book. What is his or her situation? Age? Belief system? What does he or she value? How can you tailor your words to fit those needs?
3. Determine Desired Effects
Decide what you want your reader to feel from your writing. What do you want them to learn? To ponder? Being aware of your desired effects can help you craft this experience for your reader.
4. Examine Your Choices
An important goal of humble writing is to make even the most complex ideas accessible to your audience. Look at your word choice, your sentence structure, and your book’s organization. How can you express your thought process more clearly?
5. Ask Yourself….
Try asking yourself some tough questions. Am I writing to impress or to connect? What is my tone here? Does my writing feel warm and open? Or distant and condescending? What was my purpose for writing this? Am I talking to my reader or to myself?
6. Reflect on Your Experiences
Has a speech, sermon, or piece of writing spoken clearly to you as the listener or reader? Met you where you were? Made you feel that the author understood you? Taught you complex ideas in a simple, compassionate way? Did an author ever explore new ideas alongside you? Take note of what the author or speaker did to achieve this.
Final Thoughts
Writing with Christian humility is an ongoing journey that challenges you to think beyond yourself. As you craft your words, remember to serve your readers with compassion and clarity, reflecting the humble spirit of Christ. Don’t aim for perfection or accolades—aim to connect and uplift.
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Works Cited
[i] Gibson, Richard Hughes, James Edward Beitler, Anne Ruggles Gere, and Alan Jacobs. Charitable writing: Cultivating virtue through our words. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2020. [ii] Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity. New York: Macmillan, 1960, 114.
[iii] Trimble, John R. Writing with style: Conversations on the art of writing. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011.
