There is a God, and I'm Not Him
Humility has been front and center in the readings these last two Sundays. Humility is often a misunderstood and maligned idea, but the readings today and last Sunday shed some light on what humility really means.
Last Sunday, we were advised not to exaggerate our abilities or consider ourselves more important than we are. Humility isn't pretending we are worse or lowlier than we actually are, either. It is being honest about our strengths and limitations, both with ourselves and others, recognizing that all our gifts ultimately come from God.
This Sunday, we hear another aspect of humility: knowing our place in relation to God. How can we, in our limited human perspective, imagine that we know what God should do? That anything we know wasn't first revealed to us by God? That anything we have didn't come, directly or indirectly, from God? Furthermore, that anything we have, even relationships with loved ones, can be anything more than a pale comparison to the unfathomable gifts God gives and will give us?
One way I've heard people sum up this aspect of humility is by saying, "There is a God, and I am not Him!" There's a kind of freedom in this aspect of humility - I can let God be God and take care of the things that are beyond my ability and understanding. I can turn to Him when my limited strength fails me and I cannot finish building my tower, and let Him guide me. I might even find that, if I would have had the humility to consult God first, I would have been building a bridge instead of a tower.
By J.M. Pallas