Humility

HUMILITY – The Way To Go

Andy Taylor

As the story goes, “I was awarded a badge for humility but, as soon as I wore it, they took it away again.”  Humility is not a subject one can easily talk about from personal experience unless one is confessing one’s lack of it.  It is an attribute that is certainly appealing in other people, but is it a quality to be valued in our modernist society?  Certainly, it is not something that seems to be rated highly by Sir Alan Sugar and his would-be employees in The Apprentice.  But is that the example to which we want our up and coming generation to aspire?

For the Christian, true(!) humility is a vital ingredient for a fulfilling life.  In fact, if one reads the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, one quickly discovers that, in the Kingdom of God, the way up is down:

-          “He that is greatest among you must be servant of all”

-          “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life (for my sake) will find it.”

-          “The first shall be last and the last shall be first”

Later on, the apostle Peter reminds us that, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.”

 

I was taking a school assembly recently and, to illustrate a point, I organised the children to take part in a limbo competition.  As the music played the bar moved gradually down towards the floor,  the winner being the child who managed to bend the lowest.  It was an interesting illustration of how counter-cultural God’s ways are.  In our world where young people are actively encouraged, through programmes such as The Apprentice, to push themselves forward, get to the top and gain recognition, Godly principles teach us to do exactly the opposite.  Why on earth should it be better to lower ourselves than elevate ourselves?

To be humble has nothing to do with intellect, social position or wealth.  It transcends all of these.  Humility is as much an attitude as an action.  A multi-millionaire can be humble.  An Oxbridge Professor with a Nobel Prize can be humble.  A monarch can be humble.  This latter idea was beautifully illustrated at the 60^th anniversary of our Queen’s reign earlier this year.  During the commemorative service the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded us in his sermon about something that took place at the beginning of the Queen’s coronation in 1954.  When she arrived at Westminster Abbey, the bare-headed princess’s sparkling dress was covered with a cloak.  She proceeded towards the throne, the symbol of her power and authority, but .…..she walked straight past it and knelt at the altar to pray.  This woman who was to rule a vast Commonwealth and receive honour and adulation all her life went first to kneel humbly before God in a gesture symbolic of humility and service.  Several years earlier, on her 21^st birthday, she had publicly pledged to serve all her life “whether it be long or short”.  Well, it has been long – and she has served.  Even a queen can be humble at heart.

One helpful definition of humility is “to have a modest opinion of one’s own importance”.  It is the opposite of pride.  The urge to be humble makes sense for someone with a faith in God and an eternal perspective.  There is a reward awaiting those who are humble in life.  But for someone with no faith in God or acknowledgement of a life beyond the physical one, it must at first seem pointless to be humble.  There seems to be no advantage to it.  Without the notion of being “exalted in due time”, “the first shall be last”, etc. why consider others better than yourself?  Why not put yourself first?  Why lower yourself when you can elevate yourself?  Without an eternal perspective the advantages aren’t obvious. 

The Cambridge physicist, Sir John Polkinghorne, once said, “All true scientific discovery begins with wonder!”  Wonder and Humility are good friends.  Together, they lift off us the pressure to perform and enable us to step back and contemplate awhile.  They open the door to creative thinking.  They also open the door to another valuable attribute – Wisdom.

Conversely, the adage “pride comes before a fall” (originating from the Book of Proverbs) is more than just clever words.  We have often seen the devastating fall from grace of a public figure who has gloried in his/her fame and position.  There is no need to name them.  Surely, such people would subsequently have wished in earnest that they had shown humility in the first place.  When you are very low, there isn’t far to fall.  And have you noticed who is the most content?  Most often it is those who are looking out for the well-being of others.  There is surely nothing more rewarding.

Andy Taylor

Having completed a D.Phil at Sussex University in Neutron Physics, Andy moved to Basingstoke with his young family in 1978 to work in Medical Engineering   Andy has also been a leader within Basingstoke Community Churches since 1980, joining to the full-time staff in 1989.  He has led several of the BCCs congregations but he presently spends most of his time developing projects with churches across the town to serve the local community.