What is true humility?

What is true humility? 

      As I drive home, and as I feel the rays of the setting sun and see the shadows fall on the yellow lines, I’m reminded that “the shadow proves the sunshine.”

      I’ve always prided myself in my strength areas and the gifts that I’ve been given. I’m proud of the person that I am now and what I have overcome. I take pride in my individuality and my contributions. I'm proud that I've been able to help those around me. And after streaks of "doing things right" and doing them on purpose, I start to feel invincible…like I can do no wrong. There’s a smugness that begins to take over and my gaze begins to avert… 

      And then I fall. I cross that line...I fall short...and I realize I'm not as good as I think I am. People call me on my mistakes and clean up my messes, and my mind drops into the darkness. My self-image, like a sky scraper of stacked wine glasses, comes crashing down into a million pieces. And as I pick up the pieces, and as people try to walk around the shards of my pride and reach down to pick me up, I push them away with bloody hands and a fist full of glass...snarling bitterly. 

      Being humble isn’t to say that we have no worth, but that we should have an accurate sense of self-worth. It doesn’t mean we should never strive to be valuable, but that we should avoid being self-important. It doesn't presume to know everything, but acknowledges its own incompleteness. It isn't scared of being brought low...because it has already lowered itself. 

      Humility is recognizing that our human hearts are capable of doing things wrong, messing things up, and realizing that we’ll screw life royal without going on our knees and accepting help...from God and other people. It’s embracing the fact we have those dark spots instead of trying to hide them. And when we let our darkest parts get contrasted and illuminated by the light…a light that allows us to see ourselves and the world with a proper lens...we see that our shortcomings exist so that our fullest potential can be brought out. It's then that we can discover who we are, make changes in ourselves, and bring out the best in ourselves and other people. 

      The extremely prideful can only fall. The extremely humble can only be lifted up.

quote from "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine" by Switchfoot

Haters and Hecklers

      We all know they’re out there. We all lament their existence. They are the people who need to criticize. They believe that their opinions are objects of fact and not preference. They don’t think things through. Everything in their world seems to be of the utmost importance and any other viewpoint is stamped as irrelevant or ridiculous. They don’t take you seriously. They might even want to see you fail just to say, “I told you so.” They are the people who are haters and hecklers. And we face them every day of our lives. 

      I’ve wondered why there’s so much criticism, so much mockery and jeering that flies through the air. Why do people have this overwhelming need to heckle, hate, and vocalize every unpleasant sentiment to everyone around them? It’s a human issue. We all have opinions that we want to vocalize that we feel must be heard. The problem is that it’s done thoughtlessly and hatefully. 

      People hate and heckle others with a variety of motivations. It may be motivated by a need for inclusion. They take jabs at other people’s lifestyles, choices, interests, creations, and beliefs because it’s the thing to do. Because hating makes them feel like they’re part of something important. Because it makes them feel good. And when we’re not in the “in” crowd it bothers them. We hate because it’s validating. 

      Maybe it’s bitterness. Perhaps some experience in our lives has made us disillusioned. We’re cynical and antagonistic because of a tragedy or a plan that didn’t work out. And when someone else who has it better, has a positive outlook on life, or holds to something that we oppose, dislike or distrust comes along, we turn off and become cold. We might even be hostile. 

      Or maybe we hate because we don’t know. Because we can’t handle the fact that someone or some is different and beyond our understanding. History has proven that human beings fear the unknown, and therefore hate what doesn’t resonate with them. We hate what we cannot control. If it doesn’t work out with our world, our system, then it is unwelcome in our lives. Here’s the simple twofold truth: mockers, jeerers, haters, and hecklers will always be around us in one form and medium or another. And the second part: it’s just downright discouraging. It makes us want to fight back and become defensive. It makes us want to give up. It wounds us…and then we, in turn, begin to hate and heckle on those around us. And when it’s us hating, we feel justified…as do the people who hate and heckle us. 

      When haters hate, our first impulse is to fight back and “return the favor.” But what if…just what if…we listened and took time to understand? What if we backed up, examined ourselves and our motivations and actions? And then when we became fully convinced in our heart of hearts, used our voice? We all have to be fully convinced in our convictions that what we do is helping…that it is indeed good. There’s nothing wrong with being honest, but even honesty must be tempered with truth and love. If we discern thoughtless noise from reasoned out opposition and create the two way dialogue between human beings that has been severed by pride, we create the channel for change. We all need to learn how to tune out the noise. If we were to let every sound we heard into the song of our lives and play it back, what we return is a cacophonous and muted noise that no one wants to hear. And when the entire world is playing back that same noise all at the same time, who can be heard? Who will be listening then? 

      Those of you fighting for the truth, don’t throw in the towel. Tune out the noise, face the opposition and live a life that is quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.