I think aloud about Humility on a semi-regular basis here, which is probably because I am an expert at evading it. I have had any number of near brushes with Humility. We’ve rubbed shoulders often but remained estranged. Humility wants to be my friend, but I’m not sold on the idea, so our relationship has been characterized by close calls. Time after time, I have surprised myself with my ingenuity, and given Humility the slip.
I’ve been known to accidentally walk into a room where Humility was the only one sitting there, come up with a charming excuse to leave, and quickly finagle my way out. I’m that good.
To be honest, it’s fairly easy to escape Humility. Humility is like your kid brother chasing you around the block. If you’re over four feet tall and not on crutches, you can get away. Given these odds, the degree of pride I can feel in my accomplishment is limited. Sure, I’ve outmaneuvered Humility countless times in both open and rocky terrain. But Humility never really had a chance of catching me without help. Humility is not much of a runner.
Another reason for this fact occurred to me today.
Why, when I am feeling very good, like I could take on the world, does the scene often conclude with me getting a big head? Why couldn’t I just feel great, because I had a long night of sleep, or had a good time with Lindsay, or made over 50% of my shots from three-point range, without this pleasant euphoria being translated into smugness? I know it’s possible to simply feel good, and let it end there. It’s just not easy.
Feeling pride just because you are healthy or have read a good book is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard of. It would be like MU fans acting cocky because they “got a new coach” (never mind the old coach was a train wreck). Or like Aidan swaggering around, chuckling, because he did such a good job being born.
So why do I do it time after time?
We have an inspiring experience, a moment of success, or simply a day when our entire body works right at the same time, and then this bizarre gravity comes into play, like a spiritual law of thermodynamics. In short hand, it could be known as the Arrogance Law: When you feel good, you will probably get a big head for absolutely no reason at all.
Go on and laugh. But look around, and you’ll see the Arrogance Law going about its business as regular as entropy.
It’s hard to know what to make of all this, but you have to try.
Number one, Humility clearly needs a hand. I can see that the casual acquaintance we maintain will do neither of us any good unless I become more spiritually gregarious. And judging from the ugly upshot of the Arrogance Law, humility would make a good friend after all. Maybe the reports I hear are really true. Our games of tag will have to stop.
Number two, what a relief it will be to finally reach a place where reality and feelings will coincide. Where I can just feel good—and be happy about it, not proud. I can almost imagine a world where pride will no longer intrude, with its brash sentimentality, into what is really true and beautiful and good.
That world would be worth looking forward to. It might even make me feel good in the meantime. Feel good in a humble way, of course.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Staring Humility in the Face
Subscribe to:
or 
or
7 comments:
Ariel,
Yet again you have caused me to pause and think about myself. Humility does not come easy for me either. Often times I spend more time in the company of arrogance, pride, cynicism, and discouragement than anything else. My prayer every morning is that God will forgive me the pride of the day before, and that this new day will fill me with humility--in order to realize I am truly nothing without God.
Here's the question. If one is "good" at practicing humility, does one then become susceptible to pride at one's ability to be humble?
The reason I ask, is that God allows us success. He wants us to appreciate it for what it is. If you shoot 50% from behind the arc, that's good. It would be dishonest upon being complimented upon it to hang your head and twirl your toe in the dirt, saying, "Aw, twern't nothin'."
True humility is not about whether we're happy at doing well, or even enjoying the compliments the world may bestow upon us. Rather it's about not forgetting there is Something bigger than we.
Cheers.
I like this, Ariel, and it fits rather nicely with what a friend of mine recent wrote: if we understand that we are living the story, just as the Isrealites were, then how could we be other than humble. We must, first recognize the arrogance law and this is done in our recognition of sin and our need to depend on God.
In short, Amen.
thank you for that... you've said what i've been trying to say for a long time much better than I could have... God bless!
I'm wondering if we should start a Limelight discussion about humility. You've brought up some interesting points, and I suspect others out there (myself included) have much more to say about this topic.
In all humility, of course.
Deep. That's all I can say. Wow. My brain is going to take some time to wrap around this topic.
Okay, I wasn't going to write any more, but I went to enter the safety letters so that I could post and they spelled out the word, Kamsdan, which, as far as I know, means nothing, but how often have you seen a scramble that was that easy to spell? It seemed to require that I not sacrifice such a beautiful and simple word scramble on a blog comment that is only a few words long.
I have been accused of being too humble at times - as if I have no backbone or no spine or no pride in what I do. But most of the time, I feel arrogant. Like you, I seem to become prideful about things that I have no control over. When I pass a guy in the slow lane, or when I make a light before it turns green, or when I manage to run through the rain without hardly getting wet. But there are other times when I have to limit my pride. The problem with pride can be that we take it, absorb it, roll around with it, and leave it at that. Its like the bank robber rolling around in the $13.95 that he just stole from the convenience store. Yeah, he did a good job, but there's so much more out there to be had. I enjoy reaching milestones in my writing, but I have to remind myself that they are just way-markers on the long road of life - that true pride can only be claimed on the day the Lord claims you as one of His own. Until then, our pride marks us as fools.
"If one is "good" at practicing humility, does one then become susceptible to pride at one's ability to be humble?"
Absolutely, Sherman. This is what is known as the "stealth pride" maneuver, and it takes considerable practice to master. I, of course, have done so. But since I am aware of having mastered it, I am able to avoid practicing the trick inadvertantly. A fact of which I am considerably proud.
As well, I'm a big fan of enjoying success. It would be a colorless world if we were forbidden to yell or pump our fists when we nailed a game-winning jumpshot...or to lean back in our swivel chairs, grinning, when we wrote a really good computer science paper. (I threw that in for the non-hoopsters.) If only the joy of success - rightfully earned, like endorphins after a jog - could end there...
"...true pride can only be claimed on the day the Lord claims you as one of His own. Until then, our pride marks us as fools."
"True pride," that's an attention-getter. Well said, Will. Good thing the anti-spam device was momentarily coherent.
Dustin, OC, Nunzia, Andy, thanks for the kind words.
Post a Comment