Just when you think you have caught it, you lost it. When you believe this virtue has been mastered, you must begin all over. The closer you actually get to it, the farther away you believe yourself to be. To reach this goal you must lose yourself.

Humility: the rarest gem, the righteous goal, and the mind of Christ. Do all you can to get it.

Reaching this goal is tricky because as my dad’s favorite office plaque says, “It is hard to be humble when you are as great as I am.” Do you see the problem? Being proud of achieving humility is the exact point when it starts to melt away. That is what makes it so rare. It’s like capturing the wind in a bottle; once you think you have it, the wind is no more.

Something else makes humility a rare jewel: No one really wants it. Do you want it? I’m not sure you do? When humility becomes you, people take advantage. They enjoy having mastery over you. And humility says retaliation against them is not allowed – – and in our pride saturated world, non-retaliation is seen as agreement and acquiescence. Humility is kind, and kindness is easily trampled over. And that hurts.

I want to be humble, I really do, but I want to fight back too. Humility will fight, it just doesn’t retaliate. There is a big difference. Most people fight because they have been personally hurt, humility will only fight when truth is at stake. Discerning the difference is a daunting task.

Just today I was in an argument, and while I was trying to argue a point of logic, my personhood was attacked. I wanted to retaliate, I was angry, my pride was hurt. It is hard to be wrong, but it hurts to be confronted and belittled when the other side, influenced by pride, thinks you are wrong. Humility must respond with grace, “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.” 

People don’t like to do this. It is hard to let others consider themselves better. It is hard to let others win. It is hard to de-escalate the tension. Well, at least it is for me.

Jesus was a humble man. So humble he died. 

He easily could have won: He was the smartest, the strongest, and the best. But he also was kind. He did call out sinners and Pharisees alike – but he also let them kill him. Humility does that, it gives up the win in the present so it will win in the future. Pride wants to win now! It also wants to humiliate and punish. It wants the other side to feel it’s superiority.

Humility is aiming to win the heart of the hard and understands that patience may be its greatest weapon against the fury of the proud. Humility is hard because it often dies waiting.

Boy, it hard to be humble when you are as proud as I am.