Sunday, November 5, 2017

Is Humility Obsolete?



" The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. . . All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries [Scripture boxes], and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi'.  As for you . . . you have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. You have one Master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." --[Matthew 23: 1-12].


Humility has been defined as "modesty", "meekness", even "unassertiveness".

And yet, I have heard a priest define "Humility" as recognizing that everything we have comes from God.  

People who don't understand Humility misperceive it as a lack of confidence, or being down on yourself. In fact, as C.S. Lewis said, "True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less."

Humility is one of the traditional Fruits of the Holy Spirit. That is, if we live in communion with what the Advocate teaches us, in accordance with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit -(Wisdom, Understanding, Prudence, Fortitude, Knowledge, Reverence and Awe), we will reap the Gifts of the Holy Spirit -- one of which is Humility.

I have seen the burgeoning use of the Internet in my lifetime. Yes, Social Media executives have touted the "transparency" of Social Media. And it is true, that under the microscope of Social Media, we have managed to "out" many bad actors, from heads of state to celebrities.

But the widespread use of the Internet has also unleashed a superficial side. We have "manufactured celebrities", now. Their faces, and the details of their lives, have been blasted far and wide. But we are hard-pressed to identify what beneficial works they have contributed to our world.

As a child, my family repeated the Myth that we were "superior" in every way. We were English, after all. Educated. We lived in a leafy suburb. We were not poor. We dressed beautifully. We had impressive vocabularies. Family members had jobs with big titles. We drove nice cars. We went to church dressed in fancy clothes.

You would think that I would have "bought" that Myth, swallowed it whole.  Instead, in a way, I rebelled. This Myth propelled me to want to know all sorts of people -- the Italian family who lived in a two story house around the corner; the Jewish family with the black standard poodle, who lived next door; the the black custodian at our church who came to my grandmother's house to help with the heavy housework like waxing the floors and washing the windows; the kid in my fifth grade class whose dad was a prominent local rabbi.

I wasn't any better -- or any worse -- than anyone else.

As I grew up, I hated it when people told me things about myself that I had nothing to do with. "Oh, you're so smart", as if that is something I had DONE. No, whatever intellectual gifts I had came from God.

"Oh, your family as money." Well, that was not anything I had DONE. It did not make me better than anyone -- OR worse. It was an "accident of birth".

"Oh, you have such beautiful thick hair." Again, I was born with this. It did not "make me so great".

And if I DO act generously or compassionately or with piety, I have no hidden agenda. I have had people say to me, "NOBODY is THAT nice."  I am loving and generous to others, because I want to be. I do not expect anything in return. I am not "showing off". I don't need my name on any plaque or bulletin announcement.

Today, I am teaching my son to be the same person, whether out in public or behind closed doors. I don't want him to appear spectacular on the outside, but harbor a greed, a superiority, an intolerance or  an ugliness on the inside.

Oh, how God hates Hypocrisy!  I think of the times when we found out how truly ugly a person was on the inside, when he used to have a truly stellar reputation -- that kind of Betrayal hurts the entire community.

I teach my son that we don't choose our actions based on impressing anyone.  We don't boast about how much we give to charity or about the number of people we help. We give Love, we give generously, and we give quietly.

For it is God who knows who we are in our hearts. And He is the One counts the most, in matters of the Heart.

[Related Posting: "The Seamless Christian", 12/2/12].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2017. All Rights Reserved.











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