Where once pride was recognized as a fatal flaw, in our day it comes close to being celebrated. We live in what Christopher Lasch has called “the Culture of Narcissism.” Muhammad Ali’s signature line expressed the quest of the rest of us: “I am the greatest.” Boxing promoter Don King was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying, “I never cease to amaze my own self” — and then added, “I say that humbly.” How would that come out if he were to say it with pride?
In place of pride, Jesus invites us to a life of humility: “All who humble themselves will be exalted.” But we have become badly confused about humility. We know we ought to become humble, but we’re not sure it is all that desirable. We’re not even sure what a humble person is like.
What does it mean to “humble yourself” in everyday life? Let’s say we take this seriously. Someone compliments us on the way we look. We are trying to live in God’s kingdom and respond as Jesus would if he were in our place. What do we do?
— Look down at the ground, shuffle our feet, and say, “I’m not really attractive. It’s just that the light in here is pretty dim.”
— Boldly speak the truth by saying, “I’m terribly interested in what you say. Tell me more, and let us celebrate this good news together.”
— Quote Proverbs 11:22 in order to correct the other person’s superficial focus on physical appearance: “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without good sense.” (This will pretty much remove any problem of receiving too many compliments.)
— Be direct and to the point: “You are giving me a swelled head. Get behind me, Satan.”
— Smile, say “thank-you,” then be quiet.
Humility is not about convincing ourselves — or others — that we are unattractive or incompetent. It is not about “beating ourselves up” or trying to make ourselves nothing. If God wanted to make us nothing, he could have done it.
Humility has to do with submitted willingness. It involves a healthy self-forgetfulness. We will know we have begun to make progress in humility when we find that we get so enabled by the Holy Spirit to live in the moment that we cease to be preoccupied with ourselves, one way or the other. When we are with others, we are truly with them, not wondering how they can be of benefit to us.
Indeed, humility involves a Copernican revolution of the soul, the realization that the universe does not revolve around us. Humility always brings a kind of relief.
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 111–112.
Check out the new Bible Study, The Life You’ve Always Wanted. It is available on Amazon, as well as part of the Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription service. (Like Netflix for Bible lessons.)
