Discretion Preserves: The True Nature of Christian Humility

Discretion shall preserve thee.—Humility is the first sought and last won of the Christian graces. Its acquisition presents such difficulties that it is seldom truly found in our age. Modern society's ordinary courtesy masks spiritual shallowness, while intellectual careers present a special snare against genuine humility's growth.

Abjectness is not humility. Depression and abasement do not exhaust this Christian virtue's meaning. True humility presupposes a soaring spirit—the calm dignity of Christian holiness must rest behind it. This lovely grace furthers genuine aspirations. Our Lord made three contributions to the science of ethics, each bearing the impress of the Cross: humility, faith, and love. He placed humility foremost in His teaching, evident in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. There is nothing vain or false in authentic humility; it is the hall-mark of wisdom.

The beginnings of humility must be rooted in careful self-repression. We are so bound up with ourselves that we cannot estimate our affairs justly without rejecting vast suggestions we make to ourselves. Self-abnegation, becoming habitual, may cast off all consciousness. Repentance must begin with humiliation; there can be no contrition without humility. The difficulty lies in making this feeling the permanent posture of the soul.

Success tries humility; misfortune produces it. Bishop Wilson observed, "He that is truly humble never thinks himself wronged." Humility requires fixing our attention upon people and things outside ourselves, maintaining a steady posture of reverence that confers grace and refinement upon our characters.