Reflection on Humility by Bill Cox

Reflection on Humility by Paul Burnore

  Reflection on Humility - Is Humility a Virtue?
NWUU – June 27, 2010
Paul Burnore
"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" said Matthew in his story about the Sermon on the Mount.  (Matthew 5:5).  Humility is defined as the quality of being modest, meek, even politely submissive, and never being arrogant, contemptuous or rude. 
St. Thomas Aquinas agrees.  He says "the virtue of humility consists in keeping oneself within one's own bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one's superior".
I first heard Matthew’s words as a boy at the United Church of Christ in South Bend, Indiana, and I never liked the sense of resignation I heard.  I checked a dozen recent translations of this famous biblical quote and found that some say “gentle” or “humble” instead of “meek” – but nothing else Matthew has to say in this sermon changes the meaning of “meek” as simply “passive”, although later Christian apologists somehow interpret this reference to “meek” as “strength brought under control” or strength through submission to God’s will.  Since we can’t know God’s will, we can SAY anything is God’s will.  And we can justify anything or do nothing.
So, as in Politifact, I find Matthew’s statement false and his meek people shall inherit nothing.  This kind of passive humility, this turn-the-other-cheek submission, is not one I would add to my list of virtues.  To be called a “Virtue,” humility would have to demonstrate moral excellence, integrity, even nobility.  Passiveness or meekness doesn’t meet this standard.
Ask yourself these questions:
Would our Apollo space programs have landed a man on the moon if their motto was “humility and meekness first”?

Would Mahatmas Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela and Paul Farmer have accomplished anything if they had been merely submissive and not responded with their brand of liberation theology to the blows they and their followers suffered?

How would D-Day and WWII have turned out if our armed forces had relied on meekness and submission instead of military boldness, preparedness, precision and pride?
I asked myself if Humility was the feeling I get when seeing a photo of the earth from outer space, and then seeing the earth as a pinprick in the vastness of our universe, one of millions of universes.   No.  What I feel is awe.
Then I asked:  Was humility that special rush of joy and relief and wonder and tears I felt at the miracle of the birth of my two boys?  No, again.  It’s what it was, joy and relief and wonder.  Not humility.
How about when I first saw a Chinese protester at Tiananmen Square, holding a shopping bag, standing his ground in front of an advancing tank?   Calm, just standing, not moving an inch.  And it was the tank that stopped.  Yes, this sounds more like Humility.
Humility is one of those terms, like love, which seems to me must be defined by context.  Like Love, without parameters Humility is a big gooey marshmallow which if swallowed whole does not nourish and will surely cause a big soggy, philosophical stomach ache. 
To give humility meaning, there must be context and intent.  It must be more than meekness, timidity or submissiveness.  True humility is no more equal to wimpiness than true courage is equal to bravado. 
Some religious extremists see themselves as the “Chosen” – they are saved and privileged and part of the winning team.  But that is not humility in my humble opinion.
To me Humility is related mostly to Courage and Compassion,  grounded in the feeling or understanding of the Interconnectedness of life.  I believe all three are needed to make humility a virtue.
The best touchstone for me is our UU principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”  Just add a dash of compassion and a splash of courage, and you have the recipe for Humility used by people like Mandela and Gandhi and King and Farmer.   In a religious context this is often called liberation theology; in my book it’s humanism in action.
Humility lives in action, not inaction and submissiveness.  It often requires courage and acting on knowledge and principle while fully realizing that you may not survive the action. 
Suicide bombers often call themselves humble servants of God.  Really?  By consciously choosing to murder innocent random people while believing they will escape all accountability into a cartoon paradise complete with a bevy of virgins?  And not contributing one iota to solving any human or social problems?   Humble servants, No.  There is no respect for our magnificent web of existence, no human compassion, no courage.   This is 180 degrees from humility.  This is my definition of cowardice and unenlightened kneejerk fanaticism.
Compare Paul Farmer, medical anthropologist and physician who founded Partners in Health, embraced liberation theology and even became a Catholic so he could better understand the miserably poor in Haiti, Peru, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi and Russia.  He has risked his life continually in standing up for the poor against the infamous Tonton Macoute in Haiti and other brutal paramilitary forces.  Dr. Farmer embodies courage, compassion and interconnectedness just like King, Mandela and Gandhi.  This is true humility.
I asked my son Nathan, a Captain in the Army and HQ Company Commander at Ft Bragg, the base for Special Operations and the Army Rangers, about the apparent discordance between humility and the military.  He wrote back immediately, saying:
“I think that there is nothing at all discordant about the military and humility, even though I can see how common perception would be to the opposite.  Humility is at the core of any good Soldier, for nothing is accomplished as the result of one person's pride, but the ability of a team to work together.  Any praise that I receive or mission that I accomplish is the direct result of the efforts of those who work for me, and that goes for anyone in my line of work.  It is sacrifice and service to something higher that I believe defines humility, and Soldiers define both.  The men and women I work with have given away their constitutional rights to serve their nation in a time of war.  They often sacrifice time with family, free time, and even their lives for duty and honor to their country.  I've been humbled to see the way these Soldiers have handled themselves when bullets start flying around them, and the last thing they think of is their own safety, but the safety of those around them.  This is truly a selfless service for selfless people.”
This is what I mean about humility and context.  To be a virtue, humility must take on the courage of conviction accompanied by respect for our interconnectedness and compassion.
And a recent sports example, the Venezuelan Armando Galarraga, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.  You may remember that a few weeks ago Galarraga  was denied a perfect game, something that is so remarkable that only 20 men in history have achieved it.  A perfect game is not just a no hitter, but 27 men set down in order without any walks, any hits, any errors.  If you consider that there are over 2400 games per year nowadays, and over 200,000 games have been played in history, that’s 1 perfect game every 10,000 games.  So that’s the context.  Umpire Jim Joyce called the 27^th batter, the last batter, safe at first base when he was clearly out, thus spoiling a remarkable performance.  What was Galaragga’s reaction to this huge mistake?  He smiled a “you’re kidding me” smile, went back to the mound and got the 28^th batter out. No throwing his mitt, no yelling, no histrionics, no venting to the press.   Jim Joyce, the umpire, with tears in his eyes, apologized to Galaragga for his mistake, and Galaragga hugged him.  He said that Joyce was a good umpire, that he was only human and that mistakes happen.  His context was that in spite of a once in 10,000 games performance, it is, after all, just a game.
How’s that for real humility?  Doesn’t this look like the moral excellence and integrity required to be a virtue?
That’s my story and I’m humbly sticking with it.