May 19, 2011
I had lunch yesterday with my friend Matthew Fischer. While Matthew and I disagree on some things, he's been a great spiritual mentor for me. Particularly, helping me put specifics that I'd seen or experienced into the bigger context.
It one of our typical rambling conversations that ranged from fun to sad topics then back again. But Matthew always leaves me with a something to think about, even if it is just a single sentence to a bigger story.
This time the sentence was "God's power works through weakness and humility." Matthew continued his explanation saying that the ego was great for building human strength and work ethic. Tapping into divine power required the exact opposite approach.
I mulled his point around for the rest of the day. I thought of the five most obvious times the Divine had acted in my life: to save a falling coworker, prevent my suicide, to campaign for better care for veterans, and to stop my family's financial collapse. With the exception of blocking the coworkers fall, each of those incidents had occurred after I'd failed. The fight was already lost before victory claimed the day.
I didn't get any help until I gave up my illusions that I could resolve the situation. I had to admit personal failure in order for my requests for help to be answered. The admission of my own position of weakness was critical. As long as I tried to maintain control over the situation, that control was left up to me and I would have walked down a path of failure or tragedy.
It's hard to pull a broader lesson out of this realization. How do we give ourselves up completely in a world where we are still required to be in control? What is the proper balance between maintaining personal responsibility and asking for divine help?
I can't sit on my couch waiting for God to feed my kids. I can't stand in front of the computer screen all day waiting for zeroes to get added to my bank account. Yet on the other hand, I can't labor under the illusion that I have all of the answers and brains to solve my family's daily problems. The world is full of pitfalls deeper than any ladder I possess. It doesn't make sense for me not to ask to use a better ladder.
I struggled to pull some type of lesson from this paradox. Then I remembered that Matthew hadn't just said God's power worked through "weakness." He'd said, "weakness and humility."
Humility might be the answer to the question of how can we balance our own personal responsibility on one hand and a belief system that says Divine help is a possibility on the other.
Humility allows us to be honest about our status in the world and our ability to affect our own situation. It allows for a strong sense of personal responsiblity, yet removes any internal barriers hat the ego can create to keep out Divine help.
Jesus was clear on the relationship between humility and Divine support when he said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:12. Similarly, "The greatest among you must be your servant." Matthew 23:11.
The words of the Dalai Lama take us further. "Humility is an essential ingredient in our pursuit of transformation, although this may seem at odds with our need for confidence. But just as there is clearly a distinction between valid confidence, in the sense of self-esteem, and conceit, so it is important to distinguish between genuine humility, which is a kind of modesty, and lack of confidence."
It's a powerful realization in a modern world that finds humility as a weakness instead of a virtue. That realization challenges us to protect our own humility which is under constant attack whenever we are fortunate enough to find success in or approval from the world.
I had lunch yesterday with my friend Matthew Fischer. While Matthew and I disagree on some things, he's been a great spiritual mentor for me. Particularly, helping me put specifics that I'd seen or experienced into the bigger context.
It one of our typical rambling conversations that ranged from fun to sad topics then back again. But Matthew always leaves me with a something to think about, even if it is just a single sentence to a bigger story.
This time the sentence was "God's power works through weakness and humility." Matthew continued his explanation saying that the ego was great for building human strength and work ethic. Tapping into divine power required the exact opposite approach.
I mulled his point around for the rest of the day. I thought of the five most obvious times the Divine had acted in my life: to save a falling coworker, prevent my suicide, to campaign for better care for veterans, and to stop my family's financial collapse. With the exception of blocking the coworkers fall, each of those incidents had occurred after I'd failed. The fight was already lost before victory claimed the day.
I didn't get any help until I gave up my illusions that I could resolve the situation. I had to admit personal failure in order for my requests for help to be answered. The admission of my own position of weakness was critical. As long as I tried to maintain control over the situation, that control was left up to me and I would have walked down a path of failure or tragedy.
It's hard to pull a broader lesson out of this realization. How do we give ourselves up completely in a world where we are still required to be in control? What is the proper balance between maintaining personal responsibility and asking for divine help?
I can't sit on my couch waiting for God to feed my kids. I can't stand in front of the computer screen all day waiting for zeroes to get added to my bank account. Yet on the other hand, I can't labor under the illusion that I have all of the answers and brains to solve my family's daily problems. The world is full of pitfalls deeper than any ladder I possess. It doesn't make sense for me not to ask to use a better ladder.
I struggled to pull some type of lesson from this paradox. Then I remembered that Matthew hadn't just said God's power worked through "weakness." He'd said, "weakness and humility."
Humility might be the answer to the question of how can we balance our own personal responsibility on one hand and a belief system that says Divine help is a possibility on the other.
Humility allows us to be honest about our status in the world and our ability to affect our own situation. It allows for a strong sense of personal responsiblity, yet removes any internal barriers hat the ego can create to keep out Divine help.
Jesus was clear on the relationship between humility and Divine support when he said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:12. Similarly, "The greatest among you must be your servant." Matthew 23:11.
The words of the Dalai Lama take us further. "Humility is an essential ingredient in our pursuit of transformation, although this may seem at odds with our need for confidence. But just as there is clearly a distinction between valid confidence, in the sense of self-esteem, and conceit, so it is important to distinguish between genuine humility, which is a kind of modesty, and lack of confidence."
It's a powerful realization in a modern world that finds humility as a weakness instead of a virtue. That realization challenges us to protect our own humility which is under constant attack whenever we are fortunate enough to find success in or approval from the world.
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