Proverbs 11:2 - Meaning and Application

Observe, first, how the person who lifts himself up is brought low and made to look foolish. When pride comes, shame comes with it. Pride is something a person has good reason to be ashamed of, because it is shameful for someone who came from the earth, lives by God’s mercy, depends on God, and has lost all claim to deserve anything, to be proud.

It is also a sin that others point at with disgrace and contempt. A proud person makes himself into someone people despise. God often brings such people down, as he did Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, and Herod, the ruler, whose disgrace followed right after their self-importance. God opposes the proud, crosses their plans, and works against them in the very thing they are proud about (Isaiah 2:11).

Second, how the person who humbles himself is raised up and given a good name. As pride goes with foolishness and will end in shame, humility goes with wisdom and will end in honor. A man’s wisdom wins him respect and makes him stand out with dignity before others. And if some people are mean enough to trample on the humble, God will give them grace, and that grace will be their glory.

When we think about how safe, peaceful, and easy it is for those with a humble spirit, and how close they are to God and how much comfort they have within themselves, we can rightly say, “With the lowly is wisdom.”