March 12, 2010
The Second Half
Searching for humility
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
“Now Moses was the most humble of men, the humblest man on earth.” Numbers 12:3
How could a man who grew up in Pharaoh’s house be humble? By the time God called him, Moses had lost his privileged place in society and had been hiding in the desert for many years. He was a poor man who may have been more than 60 years old, and he had a speech impediment. It must have been during those years in the desert that Moses received the great gift most of us find only after we have lost everything else. Humility.
Did you ever notice how often the gift of humility is in short supply among the young? How many of us have watched a son or daughter leave home with the certainty they knew more about how life worked than we did? Or, how many of us, long ago, happened to be the son or daughter who left because we imagined we knew what life was all about? We may have been the one who ignored loving parents and walked away while they shook their heads.
When the Prodigal Son left home without regard for his father, he must have left with this same sense of superiority. It wasn’t until the boy had lost his inheritance and had to live among pigs that he began to find himself. When he had to work to survive, he discovered that getting his hands dirty didn’t matter. Before long, the world gave him what his father could not; the gift of humility. It wasn’t until he had this gift that he was able to begin his journey home. By the time he finally came to his senses the Prodigal Son was no longer worried about appearances. He was only concerned about what he was going to say to his father.
The word humility is related to humus or earth. Only those who are bent down by life, or brought close to the earth can begin to learn the lesson of humility. Many people today have little use for humility. Self-sufficiency, appearances, wealth and power are more sought after than a life without pretense. Most of our celebrities are not known as humble people and, unfortunately, these are the people our teens often admire. We need to go beyond tabloid celebrity to find famous people worthy of our admiration. Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou and Mother Teresa are/were great people who also experienced pain and suffering, and we recognize them for their humility.
While few of us know celebrities, all of us probably know humble people who have overcome tragedy. Ordinary people who fit this category are often a joy to be around. We look forward to seeing them because they are so focused on others instead of themselves. William Temple said, “Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all.” That seems to mean people who are truly humble won’t recognize their humility because they aren’t going to waste time wondering about it. So, if we are tempted to spend time this Lent congratulating ourselves on our personal humility, we might realize there isn’t much there to think about.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.