Not God
Jesus seems to love talking about humility
doesn’t he? There are just so many places in the Gospels where Jesus
gives very serious warnings about the danger of pride and the benefits
of humility. He even went so far as to say, “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart”.
If this is such an important notion for Jesus, we should also take it
seriously. It must somehow be at the heart of life to live humbly. Just
what is humility and how does humility or the lack of it affect our
lives?
It’s hard to sum up the meaning of humility in
one sentence. Some people say that humility is truth. Others that
humility comes from the Latin word “humus” which means earth; so the
humble person is grounded, not living in the clouds. Still others say
that humility is realizing that we are not God. It seems to me that we
have to keep all three of these notions in mind when we are thinking
about humility. Humility is the truth that we are not God, and so allows
us to live firmly grounded as human beings, and not as angels or some
other heavenly beings.
God has no limitations, but we are not God,
and so limitations are part of who we are. When we live as if we had no
limitations, then we get ourselves into serious trouble. Allow me to
briefly mention two areas where living as if we were God can be very
harmful to ourselves and to others. Hopefully, some of us may recognize
ourselves in these examples and, by the grace of God, be awakened to a
new way of living.
The first area where many of us live as if we
had no limitations is in the area of time. Why are so many of us so
busy, so much of the time? Why has it become almost an epidemic? Why
even children are now so tied to schedules that some are suffering
serious psychological difficulties because they have been placed in
impossible situations. Sporting events with a game schedule that would
frighten the most seasoned professional, dancing and music lessons as if
they were all going to be the next American Idol, this club and that
club. At some point it all gets too much for them.
From where do they learn this behaviour if not
from us grownups who don’t know the meaning of proper rest and leisure?
For many people, the workweek is longer and more stressful than it used
to be. We give up our family life so that we can earn more money and
give our families a better standard of living. But in the meantime, we
are hardly with them. That doesn’t make much sense, does it?
And then we fill up our social calendars,
thinking that to be popular is to be important. But we’re not God. We
have severe limitations. We need rest. We need time with one another. We
need time alone. The humble person knows that in this life we can only
do so much and have so many friends. It’s better to do a few things
well, then to have a breakdown trying to do what’s not humanly possible
for one person.
Another major area where it’s important to
realize our limitations is the area of money. Most of us have heard
about the need “to live within our budgets”, but many of us simply
choose to ignore that little bit of wisdom. We spend too much on too
many things. We buy what we don’t really need. Instead of a reasonably
sized car, we insist that we buy one that’s just a bit bigger or
flashier than our neighbour’s. Or if not bigger, than at least as big.
Then we spend the rest of our time worrying about the payments
and where the extra dollars are supposed to come from. It’s not just
cars where we get into trouble. Almost every time we make a purchase,
there is always a higher priced this or that which strongly tempts us.
It takes a strong will and a good dose of
common sense to realize the difference between what we really need and
what would be merely pleasant to have. All of this kind of activity is
against the virtue of humility. The humble person knows what he or she
really needs, and they make their decisions based on need, rather than
on greed, or on the necessity of keeping up with everyone else.
I hope it’s clear that this kind of
over-buying is clearly against the Gospel. Some of us have too much of
what we don’t need, while others have to live in sub-human conditions.
That can’t be right. Being grounded means that we live in this world,
aware of the power of our money and the proper way to use it. Time and
money are just two areas where humility can have a profound effect on
our lives. Actually any area where we need to recognize our limitations
is an area where we need to ask God for the extraordinary gift of
humility.
Last Updated 03 September 2010