Humble Yourselves

I absolutely believe in staying humble. Only when we are humble can we learn and grow. Only when we are humble, can we receive what we need to receive.  Arrogance and ego tend to be stumbling blocks to growth. Pride can keep us from getting what we need to survive. Humility can be difficult because it goes hand in hand with vulnerability, which people tend to be afraid of and use defenses in order to avoid; however, to stay humble is an essential component to gaining wisdom.

The importance of staying humble is an age old principle. Just for the heck of it, I researched and found that, according to answers.com, the concept of humility is addressed at least 92 times throughout the Bible. God must think being humble is pretty important. In Proverbs 15:33 it says, “The discipline of wisdom is fear of Adonai, so before being honored, a person must be humble.” God does not honor someone who is too puffed up in his or her own self-importance. He wants a teachable servant and one that is willing to accept His instruction. Over and over, Adonai says that if His people would just humble themselves and turn to Him, He would remember their sins no more. That message is repeated throughout the Old and New Testament. Again, it must be pretty darn important!

Being too arrogant can not only hurt you, but it can hurt other people. I once worked with a very arrogant doctor. I had received many complaints from both patients and co-workers about his arrogance and haughty attitude. He had a way of making people feel as if they were just dirt under his shoe. He made me feel that way at times, but I could handle it. I never felt the need to confront him about it, because, let’s face it, to him I was just a bug to be squashed. When it came to my patients, however, that was another story. I had a breast cancer patient who was chronically homeless, but not homeless. In other words, she always found a place to land. When I first met her after she had been diagnosed, she was very resistant to getting treatment. She was very scared and she felt a bit intimidated at first, but after sitting with her, talking with her and showing her kindness and patience, she finally agreed to undergo treatment.

 One particular day, someone caught wind of the fact that she may have been homeless again. With that, the doctor went on a rant about how he would not treat her. All he cared about was his own liability and there was no compassion at all from him. I understood the risks of being treated while homeless, because your immune system becomes compromised, but she was an adult who understood the risks. So, I went right up to him, very close to his face, and I firmly said, “Look, it took a lot of time and patience to get this woman to trust us enough to agree to treatment, so if she shows up today, you are treating her!” I think that was the first time I saw a glimpse of humility in the man. I was not about to let his arrogance interfere with my patient’s treatment. I also knew that if he had refused to treat her that day, she never would have come back and I could not allow that to happen. It is my hope that he learned a lesson in humility that day.

I see people battling their pride almost on a daily basis. I see it in the patients at the cancer center and I see it in my practice. People have so many needs, from financial to emotional. Too many times, they allow themselves to suffer rather than simply humbling themselves to ask for help. I remember one particular patient whom I basically had to force to accept financial help after she almost refused treatment because she could not afford her copay costs. Not only did I find her copay assistance, but I was able to pay some of her utility bills. One day, she broke down crying, because she was so grateful for the help. She finally realized that pride very nearly took her life. Only in humbling herself was she able to receive the kindness, love and help she needed so that she could receive her treatment.

Arrogance is a trap that makes a person believe he or she has nothing more to learn. I have a news flash for you; we learn until we die. No one is too accomplished to learn something new. Whatever you think you know, God knows infinitely more. In I Samuel 2:3, it says, “Stop your proud boasting! Don’t let arrogance come from your mouth! For Adonai is a God of knowledge, and He appraises actions.” Take the aforementioned good doctor; as brilliant and accomplished as he was,  his arrogance and self-centered attitude would have been seen by God as wicked and foolish. For all of his degrees and status, he had earned himself a negative reputation, which made people respect him less. I may not be wealthy or of high status, but that is not what I value. I stay humble and I try to be a servant to people. At the end of my life, I want to know that people felt my love, kindness and compassion. If I die knowing that, I know I will die the wealthiest woman on the planet.

I would like to end this discussion with some encouragement. I know how hard it is to battle your pride and humble yourself. I know that, at times, we think we know everything there is to know, so we close our minds to the opportunity to learn and grow. Where does pride actually get you? Will pride pay your bills? Will pride bring you love? Will pride help you to learn a new skill or will it help you gain the wisdom that only experience and the willingness to learn can bring? No, no, no, and no! Only by staying humble can we gain all of the above. By putting our own ego aside, we open up our soul to so much, including love, wisdom, knowledge and human kindness. As C.S. Lewis said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Today, I challenge you to humble yourselves. You will not lose anything, but you will gain so much! God bless.