Humility Mirrors and Models God

“My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.” Humility is so difficult for us. Not because it is a difficult thing to do, humility is our destiny, our inmost created nature, the source of our created being but because we tend to see it as a weakness, as something to be scorned, avoided, dreaded at all costs. We believe, or rather we have come to believe by the bias of society and the teaching of our upbringing, that being humble is not for us but for them, the poor and weak. We are taught from a very young age to become independent, self-assured, self-reliant, confident, strong-willed, and proud. Be happy, be successful, be free. Become what you want or desire. Become anything you wish but avoid being considered helpless or needy. Pride unfortunately, for many, is the object of our affection, the source of our decisions and the goal we seek to attain. We want others to be proud of us. We take pride in our accomplishments. We celebrate with pride the winning team, but at what cost? Can we be proud without being overly inflated? Can we be happy with our accomplishments without boasting excessively about it? Can we celebrate the winning team without humiliating the other team, opponent, or player? Pride is about ego. It feeds, inflates, and over encourages the self. Pride nourishes selfishness, it feeds arrogance, and it mocks everyone else for who can do it better than you? Who can possibly be better than you? Who in your eyes and mind is considered the best, so much better than everyone else?  Pride is mirror seeking, accomplishing nothing, an attention grabber and a title stealer. Who wants that? A prideful person. Humility on the other hand, is unnoticed, quiet, unassuming, in the background always not seeking fame or attention but ready to lend a helping hand. Humility mirrors and models God for God so loved the world He sent His only Son. Jesus so loves the Father and all the created world that He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. Jesus humbled Himself in the Incarnation, His baptism, throughout His ministry, as He washed His disciple’s feet, was rejected by family, priests, close friends, and distant enemies. Jesus remains humble in every prayer, when the Gospel is proclaimed, Mass is celebrated, Communion distributed, mercy served and in every creature who chooses another god or fails to pray. Jesus even remains humble when you’re mad at Him.