Let’s get real about humility. We’ve spoken of its importance. And some of the same things that we said about gratitude could also be said about humility (and forgiveness and other characteristics of Christ, for that matter). But there are things that need to be said specifically about humility and how we might usefully find a greater experience of it. We also need to be clear about how far we can progress as a matter of our own will and discipline, and about the limits within the process of our spiritual formation or transformation, as well. Because, as my pastor is wont to remind us, it’s not heaven yet.
Many years ago, I read some writings of an Eastern spiritual master who said something like this: trying to eliminate your ego is like trying to physically devour yourself. He could just as well have spoken in terms of trying to be humble or selfless as eliminating your ego. Same idea. Such is the nature of who we are in the world. It’s just the way we’ve evolved, the way we’re genetically hard-wired. It’s a necessary part of our journey to this place.
A positive and constructive sense of identity and self-regard are necessary for our growth, including our spiritual growth. And as challenging as the transitions can sometimes become in moving from more identity in the world to more identity in life with God, care must be exercised to manage and maintain a wise and healthy balance. To approach humility as a goal or purpose unto itself—and with only your will and personal discipline to take you there—is likely a fool’s errand. And any progress you may perceive in yourself is likely more personal delusion than personal change—or affectation sustained by spiritual pride.
But if your purpose is following the invitations of the One who calls you, seeking the intimacy that ushers you into greater identity with Him, then one day you may awake and find that a new sense of humility is a growing part of your character, your nature. It begins with and depends on the authenticity and ardor of your desire to abide more in the Spirit of Christ, and results in more a sense of Christ’s Spirit abiding in you. This will move you toward a greater sense of transcendence of self. This is the development and function of spiritual humility. And it is God’s Spirit and Love that guide you, which open the doors and move you through. The disappointments and losses of life, the passings of this world, can then add more personal and spiritual depth to that humility as you more easily find spiritual perspective rather than despair and resentment.
Humility, then, is not something to be sought as an end in itself. It is the necessary and unavoidable result of life lived seeking transcendent relationship in the intimacy of faith, hope and love in Jesus and, through Him, in God. It takes you to the unnerving edge of a changing identity that reflects less of you and more of Jesus, and to the reality that, in a new sense, you dwell more with Christ in God.
In the wonder of it all, borrowed words flow out desperately trying, but impotent, to convey understanding or feeling of this new experience and understanding. It is as though Christ becomes more a shared experience and identity. His life and teachings revealed in the Gospels become less something you know about, reflect on or imagine, and somehow more a part of your experience, expressed character and feelings.
Sometimes, it's as though you see more with His eyes, hear more with His ears, feel and react more with His heart. Christ becomes less often Someone sensed as a separate presence, and more often that indwelling Spirit you live through. Others times, the identities may seem more separate again, but your sense of Christ’s or God’s Spirit present remains. And even in those times when the stuff of the world again and rudely yanks you away, temporarily strips you of your broader sense of spiritual identity, there most often remains a greater sense of humility.
Now you may sometimes prefer to think that your own obedience and discipline, your will, has played a role, too. And there is no question that as Christ’s or God’s Spirit abides in you more, you will want to imitate or to express more the humility modeled and taught by Jesus. And there is a role played by this ardor for obedience and discipline. But please understand that even this is the work of God’s Spirit.
And expect to see the world from more an incarnational perspective, to see more of God’s expression and communication in His creation, particularly in the details of life. Expect to find your mind, heart and spirit more open to learning more and different things about people, the world, and life with God. Expect a more Spirit-informed faith and trust in God that acknowledges that those of other faith traditions may also know God, and be called by Him—and that we are able to learn something of God and community from and with each other. Expect an intellectual humility regarding new knowledge and research which adds richness and awe to our understanding of God’s wondrous creation.
Expect also a more forgiving heart and spirit. With greater spiritual humility and the present Spirit of God comes more capacity and inclination toward forgiving. And that humility and forgiveness extinguish anger and resentment. They cannot share the same spiritual space.
Expect to find in humility the place where God is better understood and His Love experienced more fully.
First written: November 2006 - January 2007
© Gregory E. Hudson 2007
