Benjamin Franklin was an extraordinary man with many gifts and talents. He once made a list of character qualities that he wanted to develop in his own life. When he mastered one virtue, he went on to the next. He did pretty well, he said, until he got to humility…   Every time he thought he was making significant progress, he would be so pleased with himself that he became proud.

Humility is an elusive and frequently misunderstood virtue. Even Jesus’ disciples struggled with it. Right after Jesus predicted his suffering and death, Jesus learned that the apostles had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.He responded, “If anyone desires to be first, he should be least of all and servant of all.” (Mk. 9:35). Then he took a little child in his arms and said that we need to humbly serve others as if we were serving Christ.

Humility is a gift God wants everyone to have in his or her life.  It is the most important virtue every Christian needs to seek, find, and hold onto. Humility is what Jesus’ beatitudes are all about and what each share in common with the other.    Listen to what I mean.

  • The poor in spirit and those who suffer persecution gracefully realize that they are not the center of the universe – God is.  Most people never understand that.
  • Those who mourn have been touched by love and loss and are therefore more open to God’s comfort and grace.
  • The meek care more about getting things done than getting credit for doing things.
  • Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness realize that their life has a higher purpose and God’s wants to fill their hearts with the power of his love.
  • The merciful are genuinely concerned about the suffering of others.
  • The clean of heart realizes that other people don’t exist just for the sake of his or her pleasure.
  • The peacemaker is concerned about the needs and problems of others.St. Paul reminds us of what the Bible teaches us again and again: God chooses the suffering, the weak, the unlikely, & those who count as nothing to do great things.   The reason is these kind of people accept the gift of humility and understand that what God wants and others need is more important than what they want and need.   In doing so, God makes it clear that it is God at work when the great events of the salvation and church history happened.

    CS Lewis wisely pointed out that humility is not thinking less of your self – denying your gifts and talents.  Humility is thinking about your self less – putting God and others first.  Be humble!  Don’t think less of yourself, but think of yourself less.