Humility

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. -Romans 12:3

Humility has often been called the prime Christian virtue. And until we understand our proper place in God’s creation - as in, knowinig God is God and that we are not God - we cannot give ourselves fully to God. So the place to begin in the spiritual life is with humility. As Paul recommends, we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.

The character, Rick Blaine described humility well in the movie Casablanca when he said, “I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.” He was at a moment at which he was called to sacrifice what he most desired for himself, and to put himself into the larger context of what he was able and called to do for the greater good. As people of faith, we’re called to likewise and move our self-importance out of the limelight, taking our humble place in the long line of saints past and saints yet to come.

It seems to me that human beings are hard wired to think of our own best interests first. This is very important in a survival situation, but can really wreak havoc if selfishness (perhaps the opposite of humility) becomes the rule of the day. If we were all to completely abandon the needs of others to look out only for number one, what would our communities look like? Our country? Our world?

Our religious faith and spiritual practices are meant to ‘right size’ us and remind us that it’s not ‘all about me.’ If we all practiced true humility and got better and better at it, what would our communities look like? Our country? Our world?

Paul commends a practice of humility in the context of community. We can all support one another, as one body, in recognizing there is something more than just our own views, desires and opinions. It can remind us that we don’t actually know what’s best for everyone - or even, sometimes, what’s best for ourselves. Community helps us recognize that everyone has issues - and also has gifts. It supports us in growing our confidence and generosity in sharing ourselves just as we are, but also remembering that we are each but one small cell in the body - in something much, much larger than ourselves, or even much larger than our own time.

Have you ever considered humility to be a daily practice? How do you practice it in your own life?

The readings for this Sunday are HERE. Ordinary time offers many readings to contemplate each Sunday. Track 1 will lead you through certain Old Testament books week by week more in depth. Track 2 provides an Old Testament text that is meant to compliment the Gospel of the week.