Thursday, March 3, 2011

Humility

We've been discussing humility around our house again because one of my daughters has to do a skit about a saint that exemplifies humility.  So many times we have a false idea of what humility really is.  Humility is really about knowing who you are in the eyes of God. It's about giving Him the credit for all of the good in you and about you accepting that any bad that exists comes from your "hands" alone.

That being said, it got me thinking about the misconceptions that people have of devout Christians. The first time we encountered this was right after my husband and I had our reversion back to the faith.  Of course everyone thought we had just become part of the "holier-than-thou" crowd, when in reality, one of the first things we realized was how sinful we actually are!

It might appear that a conversion experience would make one stand up and say, "Look at me, now I am so holy!" when in reality the first thing it did for us was to make us fall to our knees and weep over the many sinful choices we had made in our lives.  It was a very humbling experience and how thankful we are that God provides that experience for us over and over again!

A true conversion isn't about wanting people to see how holy you are, it is about turning your eyes to God and letting Him show you the way He wants you to be.  It's about giving the glory to Him for the good things and talents He has bestowed upon you.  It is about turning to Him in mercy when you fail to live up to them.

Humility isn't about denying your talents or telling others that you are worthless, but I have to wonder...does a truly humble person really know they are humble? I mean, do they wake up one day and say, "God, I believe I'm humble?" Isn't that prideful?  Or should you tell someone you think they're humble?  Would you put them at risk of becoming prideful because you complimented them about being humble???

Well, anyhow, Praise God for providing us so many examples in the saints of what true humility is all about and for being so merciful to us so that we can continue to climb the life-long ladder called HUMILITY!