What the Monks Can Teach Us (Part 5)

Practicing Humility and Being Authentic

Columba Stewart describes humility as “radical self-honesty.” We must dismiss any notions of humility that suggest a “poor-me,” shrug-of-the-shoulders attitude. We need not think lower of ourselves than we are to be humble. We only need to think realistically, honestly and sensibly about who we are. Humility is not a synonym for low self-esteem.

Humility in Scripture is always the absence of sinful pride. Goodness and sinfulness are at war within us, and it is a zero sum game. The person who works at practicing humility displaces pride in everyway. In one fell swoop, the devil’s foothold is taken away.

Benedictine Monks followed the RB’s instructions on humility,* which are largely based on the Psalms:

The seventh step towards humility is for him [he who would become humble] not only to claim that he is beneath everyone else and worse than them, but also to be convinced of this deep in his heart, humbling himself and saying with the prophet, ‘I am a worm and not a man, hated by others and a laughing-stock to the people’ (Psalm 22:6). ‘I have been raised up and then humiliated and thrown into confusion’ (Psalm 88:15), and also ‘It is good for me that you have humiliated me so that I might learn your commandments’ (Psalm 119:71). [RB 7.51]

Dennis Okholm says, “Understandably, this does not fit well with a culture that is afflicted with self-esteemia.” But Okholm encourages us to take a closer look at the RB’s instruction on humility here. There is a progression from Psalm 22—‘I am worm’—to Psalm 88—‘I have been … thrown into confusion’—to Psalm 119—‘It is good … so I might learn.’ Okholm concludes:

In other words, we go from a false sense of self to a painful self-recognition, which is the only place where listening to God can happen.+

Actually, all 12 steps of the RB’s section on humility are summed up in the first.

The fist step towards humility is to keep the fear of God in mind at all times.

Seeing yourself as your really are—as God sees you—is what humility is all about. It prevents pride from entering the heart and frees you to love and serve God and others.

So, why don’t people simply practice more humility? The problem is that pride is easy and humility is hard. Being humble requires faith—a deep trust in God and his perspective. If I am to accept that humbling myself and serving is the truly good and right thing to do, I must believe this with all my heart. I must believe that from God’s perspective the humble shall be exalted (Luke 18:14; 1 Peter 5:6). If I am not thoroughly convinced of this faith, I will inevitably succumb to the ‘pride of life’ (1 John 2:16) that dominates the world, especially western culture.

So, we learn from the monks that practicing Biblical humility, as taught and modeled by Jesus, requires discarding our false sense of self and seeing ourselves from God’s perspective, and increasing our faith in God, trusting that the path to true greatness is through humble service. That word ‘service’ is the key. You want to practice humility? Then, you must get down and wash some feet (John 13:3-15). Service in any form (not just foot washing) is the path to humility. The monks practice humility by first serving each other and then serving the world in various ways (e.g., education, healthcare, social work, goods and produce, crafts and arts, etc.). Perhaps, we can learn from the monks by learning to serve those who are closest to us (i.e., spouse, children, local church, neighbors, etc.), then serving the world outside our personal world (our personal cloisters). This could really change how we see ourselves and build our faith in a Great God, who exalts the humble.

*Benedict offers 12 Steps toward humility, foreshadowing the modern 12-Step movement centuries ahead of time.

+Okholm, Dennis. Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants. Grand Rapids, MI: BrazosPress, 2007, p. 72.