Jesus describes Himself thus in Matthew Chapter 11 verse 29:
"I am meek and humble of heart ..."
Humility does not mean that we constantly insult ourselves. It means that we see and understand the reality of who we are -- that we see ourselves the way God sees us. That means we acknowledge our sometimes many faults, to be sure, but it also means we love all the things about ourselves that God created and loves.
Jesus described Himself as humble even though He lived a sinless life and was the embodiment of the one true God, possessing every spiritual gift. There was nothing about Himself to insult. Yet He knew Himself as God the Father knew Him. And He acted according to that perfect knowledge. Therefore Jesus was the perfect model of humility.
I only say this because I have known people who have possessed wonderful spiritual gifts and been afraid to use them or even acknowledge that they have them because they have a false sense of humility. They believe it would be a sign of the worst vanity to allow anyone to see them using their gifts.
But the truth, as I have been able to discover it, is that Satan loves to use our fear of vanity, and our false sense of humility, to keep us from doing what God wants us to do. God calls us through the gifts that He gives us. And it is not vain to use those gifts. What is vain is to believe that we have nothing that is from Him, if we refuse to acknowledge Him for what we have been given.
That means vanity is to believe: A) that nothing that we have, no innate skill or aptitude, has been given to us by Him, or B) that we simply have no innate skills or aptitudes. In case A we insult God by ignoring Him, thinking we are our own gift to the world, and in case B we insult God by telling Him that He made nothing of any real use or import when He made us.
As Mother Teresa put it:
God told us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So first I am to love myself rightly, and then to love my neighbor like that. But how can I love myself unless I accept myself as God has made me?
Again, this does not mean we are not fallen, that we need not work to conform our flawed or excessive appetites. We are all born wounded, and we must acknowledge that. But God sees not only our wounds. He sees, deep inside our hearts, what He originally intended us to be, and wants to bring that out of us. Humility means letting Him.
God made all things that are. And all of his Creation is gift. You and I are part of that Creation. Therefore, you and I are gift to the world. Humility is to recognize our identity as gift from Him. And to act accordingly. Let's pray that we can see ourselves as He sees us, and to act accordingly without fear.
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