But perhaps we might ask ourselves, what is humility?
Humility is the virtue, which gives us self-control against the danger of pride. The virtue of humility is the opposite of the sin of pride, or that spirit within us which urges us to exaggerate our strengths and abilities, especially in comparison with others.
In a sense humility is like a set of brakes that brings us back to reality, regarding our strengths and talents. It involves honesty with yourself. At times however, it is also the accelerator which helps us to not say we are less than you are.
It is not proud to acknowledge that we are good at something. We might be a very good cook, artist, soccer player, teacher, or musician. Pretending to not be good at something we do, would be false humility.
Yet we must always acknowledge that every talent we have, and every gift we have received is from God. God should get the glory for our goodness, strengths, and talents. These things are his gift to us.
In our Gospel today, Jesus catches his disciples discussing among themselves who will be greatest in his kingdom. In response he says to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all, and the servant of all.” (Mk 9)
To further make his point, Jesus then “places a child in their midst” and “and putting his arms around” the child says, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me” (Mk 9:37). To give us models for humility, Jesus highlights being a servant and being childlike as the proper attitude for his disciples.
While most of us do not have personal servants, it is not hard to imagine what a servant looks like. Servants set aside their own preferences to make others happy. They are attentive to other’s needs and try to meet those needs. They are happy to wait for others, to go last, and to take the lowest place.
Apart from serious issues of justice, they do not demand their rights. If they must assert their rights, they do so with gentleness and respect for other people. They do not keep score when they are wronged, and are they are quick to forgive and mend relationships.
Servants are docile to legitimate authority. They are concerned more for other people’s needs and rights, than their own personal rights.
Being childlike also reveals some truths about humility. Obviously, Jesus is not saying we should be like children in every respect, but we can be childlike.
Young children are often very simple, and simplicity is something that we can all practice. We can continue as adults to be honest and straightforward both with others and ourselves. We can also choose to be vulnerable.
Young children are experts at vulnerability. They will tell you what is on their mind without any filters. They are not political. They do not have a hidden agenda. In a certain sense, they have a primeval kind of vulnerability that we often lose, as we grow older. While obviously, in an adult way, we can continue to be vulnerable in our relationships with others.
Research from modern positive phycology tells that vulnerability is the key to knowing ourselves fully, the instrument of our healing, and even the key to happy relationship with others.
Children also have an untainted sense of openness to others. They easily suspend judgment and reach out to others without prejudice. At least in healthy relationships, children also offer unwavering trust in relationships.
We quickly loose this innocence as we grow older, but a humble person is not afraid compare themselves to others. It is not without reason that the words pride and prejudice sound right as a pair of sins. A humble person remains open to others and can celebrate the gifts that God has given to each person.
I don’t know about you, but as I search my heart, I am still a work in progress at learning to live the virtue of humility. To be honest, in the past vulnerability is not something I valued. Like many people, I saw vulnerability as a weakness.
Yet when we think about our faith, learning humility is one of the greatest lessons of our faith. Humility literally opens the door to our faith. The church teaches us that there is a universal call to holiness, but that this holiness is a work of grace in our hearts that only bears fruit when we cooperate with the prior work of God’s grace.
St. Teresa of Ávila says that all prayer and interior communion with God must begin with humility, and that humility is the secret to advancement in the life of prayer. St Teresa is not talking about just saying a few vocal prayers, but the kind of prayer that involves communion with the presence of God.
St. Teresa tells us that every time she advanced in prayer, and experienced spiritual growth, this only occurred because she previously gained a deeper awareness of her own inadequacy before God.
This is exactly what Jesus tells us. He promises us that, “the one who humbles himself, will be exalted” (Matt 23:12). This is a spiritual truth that is repeated over and over in Scripture.
Hopefully I have helped us to see the importance of humility for our faith, but how can we grow and improve in humility in our daily life? I think there are two important things we can do to grow in humility.
First since humility is a kind of honest self-awareness, I think we benefit most by placing ourselves in God’s presence in prayer. Being in God’s presence in prayer allows us to see ourselves as God sees us and allows us to give thanks for the gifts he has given us. This encounter with God involves his grace.
I realize that today we are concerned with sun safety and SPF 100 protection, so this is an imperfect analogy, but we might compare this to trying to gain vitamin D by purposely allowing our body to be in the sun. We cannot stay covered up or hide in the dark if we want our body to make Vitamin D, we need to step into the sunshine to gain this benefit.
Finally, as we learn to grow in God’s grace in this area, we can make the habit of making a daily examination of our heart in this area, and then to strive to cooperate with God’s grace. We can ask ourselves, what did I do well today in the area of humility and when did I fail?
Yet it is very important to understand that gaining humility is not like going to the gym to pump iron and to gain some “humility guns.” It must always begin with God’s grace. Without God’s grace, our actions usually lead to more pride and self-righteousness.
Perhaps we can make the words of St. John the Baptist our prayer, “I must decrease, that he might increase.”
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