Humilitas

I can’t quite put my finger on when my “pride problem” started to take root in my life. Maybe it was when I became a successful college athlete. Maybe it was when I finished my second master’s degree. Maybe it was when I became the director of a church planting ministry. I remember now, I believe I was a preschooler when my sinful nature kicked into high gear (like a Ford Cobra GT shifting into fourth gear). How about you? When did you start saying and doing something with an intentional “look at me” (i.e. - pride problem) attitude?

I am now convinced that we can all overcome our pride problem with a healthy dose of Humility! I really enjoyed my time reading Humilitas by John Dickson (http://johndickson.org). His thesis is simple: “The most influential and inspiring people are often marked by humility. True greatness, in other words, frequently goes hand in hand with a virtue that, on the face of it, might be thought to curb achievement and mute influence. In fact, it does just the opposite.”  Matt. 23:12 points this out, "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Humility is about redirecting our powers, whether physical, intellectual, financial or structural, for the sake of others. Thus, humility is the noble choice to forgo our status, deploy our resources or use of influence for the good of others before ourselves. More simply, you could say that a humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in service to others. Paul writing to the church plant in Philippi states “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take interest in others, too.”

Let me be clear. I am not saying that humility automatically makes someone great. Nor am I saying you can’t ascend “the heights” without humility. What I am saying is that humility enhances the ordinary and makes the great even greater. For most of us Jesus would be the greatest example of humility that there is! He was and is the greatest King we will ever know. Can we follow His example of being the quite, innocent Lamb being lead to the slaughter (http://www.new-testament-christian.com/humility.html)? I have to admit, it seems almost impossible . . . .

But praying daily for such a heart might be a start! Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche Communications, where Henri Nouwen (http://www.henrinouwen.org) spent the most significant years of his ministry among the severely disabled, gave a fitting benediction at Nouwen’s  ordination to the priesthood: “May all your expectations be frustrated. May all your plans be thwarted. May all your desires be withered into nothingness, that you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and sing and dance in the love of God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.” 

It would be good if we could memorize this prayer and start to repeat it daily. Humilitas could eventually begin to creep into our skin, our blood stream, and eventually invade our hearts.  What a humbling experience that we all need to encounter!