Humility {& the Innocence of Children}

Humility. It keeps cropping up.

This year, or even spanning from the last few months of 2014, many times 'humility' has come up at my church. Reading in Charlotte Mason's Parents and Children, the second of her six volume set, she brings up humility often. Last year I read Consider This by Karen Glass (excellent book) and a theme throughout was humility. This Sunday, and last, Pastor talked about humility that brings honor to God.

My church notebook holds mostly the verses we turned to last week when Pastor talked on humility: Proverbs 3:5-7; 15:33; 18:12; Mark 10:31-45. There is also a reference to a quote by Spurgeon (along the lines that there is nothing of value in or can come from pride). Luke 14:10-11; 1:52; 1 Peter 5:6; and Philippians 2:5-11.

Karen Glass's book has quite a bit on humility.

"If we are not humble, we are not teachable." ~p. 26

I'd read Consider This before volume 2 of Charlotte Mason's works. Perhaps that is why this sticks in my mind so; that and what seems constant reminders at church. I love this portion by Charlotte Mason, which is found again and again in Scripture:

"Our common notion of humility is inaccurate. We regard it as a relative quality. We humble ourselves to this one and that, bow to the prince and lord it over the peasant. This is why the grace of humility does not commend itself even to ourselves in our most sincere moods. We feel that this relative humility is hardly consistent with self-respect and due independence of character. We have been taught to recognise humility as a Christian grace, and therefore do not utter our protest; but this misconception confuses our thought on an important subject. For humility is absolute, not relative. It is by no means a taking of our place among our fellows according to a given scale, some being above us by many grades and others as far below." Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children ~p. 283, emphasis mine

"As believers, we are to pursue wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. The Bible tells us both that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10) and that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7)- this reflects that reverence for his word, his logos, that keeps us humble and ever seeking for better understanding of all he could teach us." Karen Glass, Consider This ~p. 126

Recently, and not so recently, the meaning of humility has plagued me. It had long been my view that humble meant to degrade oneself and put lower than others. And not just in word or act but in one's mind. Degrade. To want to almost spit on oneself because of how low and worthless one was- but not others.

"Our notion of a humble person is one who thinks rather slightingly of himself, who says, deprecatingly, 'Oh, I can't do this or that, you know, I'm not clever'...'Your children have great advantages; I wish mine had such a mother, but I'm not a bit wise.' Such things are often said, in all sincerity, without the least soupçon of the 'Uriah Heep' sentiment. The thing we quarrel with is, that the speakers are apt to feel that they have, anyway, the saving grace of humility. It is worth while to reflect that there are no such self-depreciatory utterances ascribed to the Example of that 'great humility' which we are bound to follow; and if there is not the slightest evidence of humility in this kind in the divine life, which was all humility, we must re-cast our notions." Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children ~p. 283-284, emphasis mine

Man was created a little lower than angels. His dominion is the entire earth and its creations. (Psalm 8:3-6) How can one think so lowly of a person; themselves or others? It saddens me. We are lower than God, no doubt. But we are all on the same level as people. God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:10-11).

But children have humility naturally.

"Children, too, never make self-depreciatory remarks; that is because they are humble, and with the divine Example before us, and the example of our children, we may receive it that humility does not consist in thinking little of ourselves. It is a higher principle, a blessed state, only now and then attained by us elders, but in which the children perpetually dwell, and in which it is the will of God that we should keep them." Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children ~p. 284

"Now, if there be but one humility in the whole world, and that humility be the humility of Christ, and if our Lord pronounced the little child also to be humble is it not because of the indwelling divinity, the glory in the child which we call innocence?" Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children ~p.282

It is essentially taught out of them. As parents, and caregivers otherwise, we make them become aware of themselves to the point that they are too aware by the time adulthood comes around. By then, the notion presented above of humility, the inaccurate notion, is given and degrading begins.

But how to be unaware of self? Because when one is not aware of self, others become important.

This should be the end as I would probably get off track if I continue on. Humility is something that has been coming up again and again. I take that to mean it is something that needs some focus.