Nineteenth Century British author John Ruskin once wrote: “The first test of a truly great person is humility…The greatest people among us have a curious feeling that the greatness is not in them, but it is through them; they see something divine in every other person and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.” Humility links us to one another and to God. “Human” and “humility” come from the Latin word “humus” which means “ground.” To be humble, therefore, means to be grounded, much as the first human, Adam, was from the ground, formed of the earth.
In life and in prayer we are beckoned to humble ourselves before God, which essentially means to return to our basic human nature, to be earthy. When our human state is over and we leave the earth, I suspect God wants to not only embrace us again as human beings but even reshape us again as divine beings, and not because we were so good or so loyal in the earthen state, but because God is so loving and so merciful in calling us to the heavenly state. It is in prayer that we are most humble and most human, I think, because that is when we are most connected to God and it is where God best reveals to us the proper ways to value and embrace humility.
Humility does not mean to be wimpy, nor does it mean to be brash; but it does mean to be strong. It doesn’t mean to be speechless, nor does it mean to give in; but it does sometimes mean to remain quiet. Though it certainly doesn’t mean to be arrogant, it does mean to be sure; and though it doesn’t mean to be full of ourselves, it does mean to be fully aware of our place in the presence of others and in the presence of God. Put simply, it means to recognize our human state. It means to live as Jesus did: not for ourselves, but for others. It means to use our talents as Jesus did: not for our own glory, but for others’ needs.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a smart and determined person but not considered to be physically attractive; she was likened to a societal wallflower. She was also self-effacing in her humility. She once said, “There was a rose named after me and I was very flattered until I read the catalog description of it which stated: ‘It is no good in a bed but fine against a wall’.” Her strengths and strength of character far outweighed her weaknesses—and she accepted both. Sometimes other people humble us. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernadine recalled the day that he was ordained a bishop and his mother said: “Joseph, stand up straight and try not to look too pleased with yourself.” Years later when he was installed as a cardinal, she looked up at him as they shared breakfast and commented, “I should have gotten you braces.” As the ole country song by Mac Davis acclaimed, “Lord, it’s hard to be humble…”
Yet we know our place as creatures created by the Creator. When we truly grasp our place in creation, we live meaningful, purposeful lives of humility. Jesus told followers several times that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. We’ll experience this by proceeding along our earthly journey grounded in humility while trusting that our loving and merciful God desires to exalt us. It happens through prayer, by walking and talking with God each day, detaching ourselves from our limited human form so that we can experience greater love for our infinite divine future beyond this realm.
Saint Teresa of Avila once said that “Humility is an acceptance of things as they are. To be humble is to walk in truth. To be humble is to trust God infinitely. Three virtues are inseparable from prayer: love, detachment, and humility. Humility comprises the other two as the ‘salve for all wounds’.” Let us pray for one another as we journey onward and upward as humble descendants of Adam and Eve and faithful children of God.
