Today's mass reading was about humility, and I feel very connected
to this topic. I think many of us have forgotten the virtue of being humble,
especially living in a world where we have to constantly 'prove' our argument,
or substantiate whatever we say with a 'logical' reasoning. In order to appear
smart and knowledgeable, we say things with more conviction, with more
confidence, sometimes to the point of boasting. Note that conviction and
confidence have no correlation with being right. Let's look at some excerpts
from today's reading.
My son, perform your tasks in meekness;
then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more
you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.
(Sirach 3:17-18)
"When you are invited by any one to a
marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man
than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to
you, `Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the
lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that
when your host comes he may say to you, `Friend, go up higher'; then you will
be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For every one who
exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted." (Luke 14:8-11)
My take on humility is that we always have
to be aware of how we behave and say things. Just because you know something
doesn't mean you have to say it in an arrogant, prideful, or boastful way,
because it may not be true. When shown that your argument is weak, then you
will be like the man in the Gospel, humiliated in front of other people.
Even if your arguments hold true and are
valid, there are better ways to present it than boasting and having the
know-it-all attitude. Saying it in a calm manner or suggesting it as a
tentative hypothesis are ways that will not make people be annoyed at
you.
I personally dislike people who say things
loudly just because they think they know what they are saying. Obviously, me
getting annoyed shows that it is something within me that I need to be aware of
(counseling education is giving me a lot of self-awareness. Whenever you are
upset, ask yourself why. In most instances, it's within you rather than outside
of you). Why am I annoyed with such people? I suspect it's because it stems
from my beliefs that there is no one truth (except for the fact that I believe
in God), and that most things, if not all things, can be seen in different
perspective. This belief conflicts with other's know-it-all attitude and thus
forming a strain in the relationship.
Now that I have examined myself, let's
look at why do people want to boast, act arrogantly and be prideful? I suspect
it's because deep down, they feel inadequate and inferior. They act as if they
know everything to compensate for their feelings of inferiority. I have
observed that (it could be a false, statistically insignificant observation)
people who are truly knowledgeable do not act in a prideful manner. In fact,
they act in humbling ways, and I suspect that it's because they know what they
know, and they know what they don't know. They are secure in their knowledge,
and do not pretend to know things outside of their competency.
Of course, the environment plays a part as
well. Some of us grew up in environments that promote our boastful, arrogant,
and loud talking behaviors. The media (hint: HOLLYWOOD) is showing us, more
often than not, that these qualities are positively looked upon. It surely gets
you attention.
All that said, we first have to evaluate
ourselves whether we have this prideful attitude, and if we do, is it
beneficial for ourselves and the community? If it is beneficial, then great.
But if it is straining your relationship with love ones, friends, and family,
then maybe it's time to evaluate how we can humble ourselves to better serve
others and the world, rather than paying attention on feeding our inadequacy. I
believe that there is no harm is being humble. Being humble doesn't mean being
submissive, and being humble doesn't mean you don't sell yourself during
interview. Being humble means knowing your strength and weaknesses, being
considerate of other people's plight, and acting in ways that portray you do
not know everything.
God Bless~
