REL: What Is The Nature of Christian Humility?

[Gingersnap]

Humility is a Christian virtue and one that has been examined and discussed for centuries. This thread is to discuss the nature of humility within the Christian framework.

How does Christian humility differ from the secular idea of humility? Are humble people constrained from opinion? Is it "humble" to be a doormat? How does the idea of humble behavior differ from secular ideas about low self-esteem and other-directed behavior? Is humility a source of pride for some? Or is humble behavior itself a source of unrest for others when they witness it? Can humility inspire envy? Is it even a virtue worth having in this day and age?

Discuss. Nicely. :)

[nacho]

Humility is a Christian virtue and one that has been examined and discussed for centuries. This thread is to discuss the nature of humility within the Christian framework.

How does Christian humility differ from the secular idea of humility? Are humble people constrained from opinion? Is it "humble" to be a doormat? How does the idea of humble behavior differ from secular ideas about low self-esteem and other-directed behavior? Is humility a source of pride for some? Or is humble behavior itself a source of unrest for others when they witness it? Can humility inspire envy? Is it even a virtue worth having in this day and age?

Discuss. Nicely. :)

What a very interesting subject.

As a person, I take humility to be the wisdom of understanding how small we each are in relation to our universe. I think anyone can feel this no matter their religious beliefs or lack thereof. It's almost inevitable, when one thinks of how many things are bigger than us and out of our control. As a Christian, I take humility to be the wisdom of understanding how small I am in relation to my God. This is similar to the awe that creates a secular humility, but that comes from thinking about God and God's saving work, rather than, say, the cosmos.

Humility is definitely worthwhile, as much as ever. To me it is the only reins on that mother of all sin, pride. Pride that tells me I should think of myself first, and from there it can only wind up in sin. Humility checks that, admittedly not all the time, and reminds me I'm just another person, under the same commandments as anyone else. It also reminds me to be thankful for what I have, and to be patient with what I don't, because--again--I'm just another person: other people go through hardships, and many of them make mine look rather minor.

While I haven't answered all your questions, these are just the thoughts that immediately spring to mind.

[samurai]

Here are a few of my thoughts, from the POV of an agnostic: I don't see pride as always a sin or humility as always a virtue. Like many things in life, I think you need to have a balance. I think you should feel pride in yourself and your accomplishments, your family, hometown, and country, etc. But it needs to be a realistic pride. By that, I mean a justifiable pride in the good things, while not being fanatical or blind to the things that can be improved upon. If you are truly a good musician, artist, athlete, father/mother/brother/sister/child, etc, you should recognize that, and give yourself a bit of a pat on the back, stand up proudly, have confidence, and recognize that you do have talents, etc. Don't get too big a head about it and don't brag too much, don't think you are better than other people, and don't forget that others all have their good points too.

That is the humility part of things... remember that while you may have strengths and good features, you also have weak areas that need improvement. No one is perfect.

What I don't like is these new age self-esteem stuff they are teaching kids nowadays, because it utterly fails the realism test. It teaches that everyone is good at everything, and no one should keep score in sports because it'll make the losing team feel bad. It is instilling a false sense of pride that is not accompanied by the balancing humility, and it isn't based in real accomplishments achieved through hard work, dedication, and a chance of failure... and without those things, why should they feel any justifiable pride in accomplishing it?

It's almost 3:30 in the morning here, I'm off to bed... I hope what I said here made some sense. If not, I can try to refine it in the morning.

[FlaGator]

Humility is a necessary part of Christian life and is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Beatitudes teach us of the necessity of humility. Without humility we tend to put our will ahead of the Father's will which creates discard between the Creator and the created. Sin and evil first arose from this discord and humility allows us to restore the harmony (to some degree) between God and fallen man. It also make it easier to live out the other commands that Christ spoke of such as love your neighbor and pray for your enemy. It would be impossible to do these things without humility.

Pride, the opposite of humility, is the worst of all sins. As C. S. Lewis stated, it is the sin that tolerates no rival sin. It is the sin that leads to all other sins and true humility is its enemy. I believe that the secular world, however, has a misconception of humility. Moses was considered humble but the bible shows that his humility didn't force him to stand silent in front of opposition. Jesus was the standard of humility but he displayed his fierceness in the temple with the money changers.

Humility does not mean cowardice. It means accepting will of God as one’s own and putting His desires ahead of your own.

[noonwitch]

Humility is a recognition that God's grace is not just for you alone, but for all of humankind.

[samurai]

Humility is a necessary part of Christian life and is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Beatitudes teach us of the necessity of humility. Without humility we tend to put our will ahead of the Father's will which creates discard between the Creator and the created. Sin and evil first arose from this discord and humility allows us to restore the harmony (to some degree) between God and fallen man. It also make it easier to live out the other commands that Christ spoke of such as love your neighbor and pray for your enemy. It would be impossible to do these things without humility.

Pride, the opposite of humility, is the worst of all sins. As C. S. Lewis stated, it is the sin that tolerates no rival sin. It is the sin that leads to all other sins and true humility is its enemy. I believe that the secular world, however, has a misconception of humility. Moses was considered humble but the bible shows that his humility didn't force him to stand silent in front of opposition. Jesus was the standard of humility but he displayed his fierceness in the temple with the money changers.

Humility does not mean cowardice. It means accepting will of God as one’s own and putting His desires ahead of your own.

Wouldn't a better word be "submission" or "supplication" then? There is no way to truly know what God wants, if there is a god. Every religion in the world has claimed to know what God/the Gods want, and were sure they were correct. Different holy books, sects, and religious leaders around the world and through all time have never conclusively proven that their permutation of their faith is the 1 true way. Many of those religions existed for thousands of years. Isn't it a form of Pride to announce that one's religion is the 1 true religion, and that any who do not believe in it will not be saved? (And that goes for all religions).

Hence, when someone believes that it is not their will that they are following, but that of some god, they are in fact elevating their own beliefs above those of all other people, because theirs are divine while all others are mere fictions, or at best pale reflections of the 1 true Word of God. When such a person looks at themselves, they may see humility, but how do they feel about others of different faiths who are just as self-assured that their religion is the only real one? Would they not see that as false Pride?

[FlaGator]

Wouldn't a better word be "submission" or "supplication" then? There is no way to truly know what God wants, if there is a god. Every religion in the world has claimed to know what God/the Gods want, and were sure they were correct. Different holy books, sects, and religious leaders around the world and through all time have never conclusively proven that their permutation of their faith is the 1 true way. Many of those religions existed for thousands of years. Isn't it a form of Pride to announce that one's religion is the 1 true religion, and that any who do not believe in it will not be saved? (And that goes for all religions).

Hence, when someone believes that it is not their will that they are following, but that of some god, they are in fact elevating their own beliefs above those of all other people, because theirs are divine while all others are mere fictions, or at best pale reflections of the 1 true Word of God. When such a person looks at themselves, they may see humility, but how do they feel about others of different faiths who are just as self-assured that their religion is the only real one? Would they not see that as false Pride?

Submission is the act but one cannot willingly submit without humility. As for not knowing what God wants. God speaks to me via the Bible, my prayers and often through other people. The Bible to me is the true word of God because I can read and validate the truth that it contains. I can read about not murdering, lying, coveting and not committing adultery and I understand why God defined them as sins. Nothing good ever comes about because of their commission. God spelled out 10 things He wants of us in the Old Testament and then Christ expanded upon them in the New Testament. In short the Old Testament provided us with the letter of the law and the New Testament with the spirit of the law. I do not find fault with them. This does not prove the existence of God but it does validate that the Bible has a moral good to it.

It would be beyond the scope of this thread to go in to the philosophical debate over the existence of God but if you're curious I would suggest reading some of the works of Plato, Kant, Kierkegarrd, Augustine, Pascal and Aquinas. They will present many of the same arguments I will and do so with greater eloquence.

As for being prideful in stating that my religion is the true one? I don't recall saying that it was. I know in my heart that it is but I prefer to let others find that truth for themselves. If you want to discuss my reasons then that is a whole different topic.

Was my response in this thread in some way betraying that I was prideful or boastful about my religious convictions? I was merely answering a question about humility. Would you consider it prideful if you were about to jump in to a lake and I offered you a life preserver because I knew about an undertow that you weren't aware of? Should I just keep my mouth shut and let you drown? A so consider this as well, as you point out there are a lot of beliefs claiming to be the correct set. Now if you ever establish the fact for yourself that God is real then one of those may really be the true belief and you're going to need to be able to discern it.

[Goldwater]

Humility does not mean cowardice. It means accepting will of God as one’s own and putting His desires ahead of your own.

Humility is open to those who do not believe in God too, hence it does not mean accepting God, it can be a religious value, but it is not one at the core. Humility is being unpretentious and honest to yourself and those around you.

[LogansPapa]

Jesus washing His disciples feet - any greater humility than that?

[samurai]

Submission is the act but one cannot willingly submit without humility. As for not knowing what God wants. God speaks to me via the Bible, my prayers and often through other people. The Bible to me is the true word of God because I can read and validate the truth that it contains. I can read about not murdering, lying, coveting and not committing adultery and I understand why God defined them as sins. Nothing good ever comes about because of their commission. God spelled out 10 things He wants of us in the Old Testament and then Christ expanded upon them in the New Testament. In short the Old Testament provided us with the letter of the law and the New Testament with the spirit of the law. I do not find fault with them. This does not prove the existence of God but it does validate that the Bible has a moral good to it.

It would be beyond the scope of this thread to go in to the philosophical debate over the existence of God but if you're curious I would suggest reading some of the works of Plato, Kant, Kierkegarrd, Augustine, Pascal and Aquinas. They will present many of the same arguments I will and do so with greater eloquence.

As for being prideful in stating that my religion is the true one? I don't recall saying that it was. I know in my heart that it is but I prefer to let others find that truth for themselves. If you want to discuss my reasons then that is a whole different topic.

Was my response in this thread in some way betraying that I was prideful or boastful about my religious convictions? I was merely answering a question about humility. Would you consider it prideful if you were about to jump in to a lake and I offered you a life preserver because I knew about an undertow that you weren't aware of? Should I just keep my mouth shut and let you drown? A so consider this as well, as you point out there are a lot of beliefs claiming to be the correct set. Now if you ever establish the fact for yourself that God is real then one of those may really be the true belief and you're going to need to be able to discern it.

I wasn't trying to attack you or your statements. I tried to omit as many references to the general "you" as possible, and speak instead about "someone who believes or does this". I am interested in hearing about your views on pride and humility, and how the relate to religious or secular beliefs and people differently.

Perhaps its because I don't believe in a religion, so when I think of "having faith in something", to me it means "I hope, fear, or believe that I may be right about something that I can't prove." It is a hunch, a feeling. It may be based on experience, observation and interpretation, or merely an understanding of the way things tend to go, but it's not cold, hard, indisputable fact.

When you talk about KNOWING that there is an undercurrent and the person will need a life preserver, that is, to me, faith bolstered by pride into a certainty when in fact it is a belief, an unprovable hunch or feeling. You don't know, for a fact, that there is an undertow there, you are taking it on faith. And when I speak of faith here, it's not limited to religion, secular people fall into the same trap... IMO, it is little different from anthropogenic global warming alarmists who believe with absolute certainty that they are right, and they have "evidence" to back them up. But IMO, their pride magnifies that belief, in their minds, into incontrovertible fact. If they had more humility, they'd realize that it is only a belief, not a proven fact, that they espouse.