“God wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble – delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life.
He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are. I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort, of taking the fancy-dress off – getting rid of the false self, with all its ‘Look at me’ and ‘Aren’t I a good boy?’ and all its posing and posturing. To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert.
(4) Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man, he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”
(4) Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man, he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
* * *
Pride, unfortunately, is an occupational hazard of bloggers. After a couple of years of blogging, you get used to proclaiming your opinions in a magisterial, vatic style. If you have a “nice” online persona (or, better still, are truly a nice person), you will not attract detractors who shoot you down on a daily basis. The majority of the comments on your blog or on your blog on Facebook or Twitter will be positive, usually in agreement, and occasionally praising you.
All this is not the best soil to develop sweet humility. And there is ultimate freedom and joy in humility because the humble person is free from the burden of self—the need to excessively peacock oneself. “Humility like darkness reveals the heavenly lights.”
* * *
They say pride is like bad breath. You can smell everyone else’s quite distinctly, but are oblivious of your own. Well, I have recently noticed pride, even arrogance in myself, to my own sorrow. Oh dear!! And this is serious. What more certain—and more boring!!—destroyer of joy than pride?
And so I have begun to pray for humility.
Jesus is wonderful. He says he can ask for whatever we wish. And so I am praying NOT to develop humility in the way one usually develops it—by humiliation.
I would rather develop it in the way Lewis points out–by knowing God and enjoying and revelling in God rather than by a stroll through the valley of humiliation (though that, as Bunyan points out, has its own sweetness).
So Lord, please help me to develop humility in the loveliest way—by focusing on you, rather than myself. Amen
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Thanks both! With commentators like I have, blogging is a continuing education!!
Miss Mollie, I had heard something like too. And it does all come from God including the strength to follow one's call. You are spot on!
Humility is an oft misunderstood word. It does not mean “subservient”, “self-deprecating”, or “lowly”. It means merely to understand one's place in the universe. And sometimes that place is in leadership and sometimes it is being a slave to your kid's stinky laundry and sometimes it is bowing before the awesome power of God. But false humility is as dangerous as pride. If you ar called to be a leader then lead and if you have confidence in an area…be confident. A wise writer once said that being humble means to fully accept God's call to you. I don't remember who it was, but I remember that line from our Christian book club. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
I love CS Lewis – I have read Mere Christianity several times and get something new every time I do. I always feel like he's talking directly to me, not lecturing over my head with $10 words.
I heard on the radio, in bits and pieces, that a small amount of confidence, as opposed to a great amount will help a person in a business or career. It is the willingness to learn, to not feel that you are so great, you have no room for improvement.
Humility is acknowledging that all one is comes from God. One may be great, but it is only because of God, since He made a person that way.