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Friday, January 17, 2014

Humility

There is great freedom to be gained when one discovers it is not necessary, or even healthy, to be "right," that is: to have your opinion or way, to prevail at all times.  An uneccesary weight is lifted when we become comfortable leaving room for the opinion of others.  This requires humility.  It can be quite enlightening to listen to, and not look down on, the uneducated and unsophisticated and others who have seen and endured life experiences unfamiliar to us.  From just such I've gained practical and spiritual insights I wouldn't have learned otherwise and I am grateful to those who shared them with me.
We should be able to listen to other opinions without surrendering our integrity or our core beliefs.  If those beliefs are shaken by other opinions then they are exposed as thin and weak and require examination and strengthening.  This may well be why some are not willing to listen to other opinions.

Being "right" in deed, doctrine or even the ordinary things of life is considered by some as tantamount to "winning."  Men seem to be born with a need to be competitive, and winning or being seen as a winner is sought after and even admired as a worthy goal.  For some, always being "right" is a necessity for their lives to have any meaning.

Look at the "heroes" (a word so misused and over-used it has lost its real meaning) in our society.  They are the ones who come in first and/or at the top.  Who remembers the second-place finishers?
The necessity or compulsion to be right, a winner, whatever those categories may be in one's own supposition, can drive one to great achievements or to the depths of deceit and spiritual disaster.  It likely will lead to an attitude of victory at all costs, slash and burn as considered necessary and to the sacrifice of integrity when it gets in the way of desired goals.  The venues can range from the family to major corporations and to governing bodies.
Of course all of us must make decisons, minor and major, everyday of our lives; decisions that affect ourselves and others.  If we are wise we make allowances and provide for uncertainties in case we are wrong and we check our decisions against our core beliefs.  To help in our decisions we may seek the advice of parents or friends; those who are more experienced.  Leaders in government and industry have advisors and boards to help with decisions.  Proverbs 11:14 asserts: "In the multitude of counsellors there is safety."

In the simple things of life the burden of always being right in one's own conceit can be a heavy one. It may bring a sense of comfort and satisfaction to think that one's pontifical pronouncements are the final and correct word on how chairs should be arranged, colors are to be used, temperatures set, or who should be chairperson of a church committee, the proper dress for an ocassion, what to serve at the club luncheon, how to drive a car, etc.. It's best to remember it's been said that, "Being positive is being wrong at the top of your voice."  Being faced with irrefutable evidence that one is wrong, after having convinced oneself of the opposite, is a huge blow to the ego and may result in a wound that cannot be healed.

One of the outstanding characteristics of Jesus was his humility.  "Although he was God he did not insist on his rights as God."  Jesus did not insist on having his way with God although he clearly had the right. Instead, he submitted himself to the will of God.
Humility is not a sought-after virtue, especially in our society where being assertive is considered  more desirable.  Are you aware of any institutions offering classes on how to be humble?  When is the last time you heard a sermon on humility?  Humility is equated with weakness, being a wimp or spineless or all three.  Do any of those fit Jesus?  Absolutely not.  How many athletic 'heroes' would willingly allow themselves to be nailed to a cross?

"What does the Lord require of thee but to do justice; to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?"
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There is only One who is. and has always been, right:  Almighty God.