The quotation that comprises the title of this post comes from the Irish statesman, Austin O'Malley. It hit me with great force today, as I came across it in my studies. I think he may have hit the nail on the head, but I am still pondering.
I am thinking, a great deal right now, about humility. We have all heard the joke that once you are aware of your humility, it is gone and this is so true. I am trying to figure out just how we gauge this quality. In a dialogue with a friend on this subject, he sent the following definition. "A quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God's sake." Whoa! Those of you who know me and my philosophy, especially concerning education, will see the mentoring aspect in this offering. And we know that Christ is the perfect mentor and also the perfect example of humility. But I was really struck by the latter part of that definition, "and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God's sake". There is a sense of charity in this statement. I have spent years teaching young people the mantra, "I am nothing, except through God and through Him, I am everything." But tonight I am thinking that this is mantra misses something. This is still about ME and not others. I have so many things that I have found in my studies of this today, but two things really distilled for me, because this entire line of study comes as a result of feeling the need for humility in order to engage best in the spiritual gifts that we have been given. Which means humility in order to serve.
The first of these two things is the scripture 1 Peter 5:5,"...Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (I also considered the NIV translation of this verse, but I chose to use the KJV because I prefer the word "resisteth" the proud, rather than "opposes" the proud.) Peter continues on about humility in the verses that follow, but this one really struck me. Our humility is real when we are so clothed in it that we use our gifts and talents reflexively for others. The most powerful ah-hah for me in realizing this was that charity is truly unique to each of us. Charity is the pure love of Christ and in our limited capacities here on earth, we can only offer the pure love of Christ through our own unique talents, gifts and missions.
The second thing that was profound for me today is along these same lines. It is a quote by William Temple, the Anglican bishop/scholar. He stated, "Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all." Double WHOA! Humility is reflexive. I have preached to those I mentor (most especially myself) for years about gaining a "charity reflex". An ability to react to the needs of those around us nearly immediately through the spirit of God and what He would have us do. Today, I came to see that this reflex is not available to those who are being prideful. AND HUMILITY IS LIBERATING!! "It means the freedom from thinking about yourself at all"!!! I have a lot of pondering, praying and considering to do about this yet, but this feels very right to me. It is not destructive or demeaning, true humility, it is empowering and strengthening. And it is, indeed, different for each of us, as we strive to discover the gifts that He has given us and magnify those gifts, as we are commanded by "being subject one to another".
Thoughts....???
I love your thoughts on this topic. I think I disagree with the statement that we are not aware of our own hmility. I think we are or can be aware when we are right with God in keeping His commandments, including being humble. I think the Savior knew very well that He was humble. I think if we love God first, our feelings about ourselves will fall into place. I also think that we cannot be subject to other people in the same way that we are subject to God because other people have varying levels of trustworthiness. The Savior was measured in submitting to the needs of others; sometimes He withdrew in order to pray or rest. I also think that once our relationship with Deity is going in the right direction that we will naturally reach out to others, which will further enhance our relationships with both the Father of us all and the Savior. Those are my immediate thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote from William Temple, [humility] means freedom from thinking about yourself at all. The verses that came to mind while I read were Jeremiah 9:23, 24: Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast af this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth: for I delight in these things," declares the Lord.
ReplyDeleteAren't we supposed to be the hands and feet of the Lord on this earth, exercising lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness ourselves? And I can't adequately do that if my focus is on ME. This was a good exhortation, Cynthia. Thank you.