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What are your thoughts on the relationship between love and humility in the exercise of our gifts? Is it possible that, in our time, we are putting undue emphasis on the gifts themselves and neglecting the question of the posture we adopt in the use of our gifts?
Sr. Becca, great questions! What is the proper emphasis on spiritual gifts? What is the source of giftedness? If we are pride-filled in regard to our gifts, have we assumed something for which we can take no credit for possessing?
Peace,
Fr. DanGifts, or specific abilities, are from Gid, but must be nurtured. It is difficult to possess these special gifts and to master their use without pride raising its ugly head. Mastering a gift, whether as a writer, a leader, a caregiver, or academic or professional achievement all are sources of pride. Prince’s close cousin is arrogance. These are characteristics that to one degree or another, we’ve all felt.in part, because it gives us a sense of power over others.
Recognizing the transitory nature of mortal life, and that all humans are recipients of God’s gifts and love, one can begin to recognize the wrongness of pride and arrogance. Humility is the recognition that you are nothing special, that all of humanity is equally important in God’s eyes. When we leave this stage of life for the eternal one, God is unlikely to be impressed by our credentials. We will be measured by our faith and compliance with his commandments…not by our academic achirvements, or our recognition as successful business persons, or by any other mortal measure.
Another aspect of Humility is knowing that we are God’s Beloved and that we are cherished beyond understanding. That God’s love endures forever and will never forsake us. In this I am humbled and when I acknowledge that in His mercy and grace I am part of His Kingdom, a child of God, I can only respond in love, praise and thanksgiving. Abba Father… I adore you, lay my life before you, how I love you…
Here’s some of what Simon Tugwell has to say about humility’s close cousin, meekness: “We know so little of the divine intention in what we do that it is foolish to have more than the most provisional purposes in mind while we do things. But this surely makes it much more possible for us to act. If heaven and earth depend on what we do next, we shall probably be too scared to do anything. But if nothing depends on what we do next except what we do next, then we can afford to take the risk of doing it. It is reassuring to realize that any conceivable outcome, whatever it may be, is bound to be within the all-wise providence of God.”
When I think of my own gifts and the eagerness to use them, I remember times when my younger self wanted to show off, feel important, maybe even improve upon someone else’s style or method of utilizing the same gift.
I can remember a time when I was anxious about the poor treatment I was receiving from someone in a more or less public situation. I spoke to a person wiser than myself. He overcame the problem by being other-centered. He helped me to understand that I needed to feel respected. I was hurt and overly sensitive at the time as I was insecure and lacked humility. That was hard to hear. But some of my old friends have an expression–Just breathe into it. LOL! It was one of my brothers in fact. So I did breathe into the new awareness. I needed more humility!
Okay. But what about the person I had to encounter? Back to being other-centered as I was far too concerned about avoiding my own uncomfortable feelings. My brother told me that my greatest need in the situation I found uncomfortable was to feel important and respected. He said that the other person needed those very things too. Why not forget myself and practice humility—which is simply truth according to Aquinas. Try to offer those actions and words which might help the other person to feel respected and important. I said that I did not like this person–wouldn’t that make me a phony? No he said. It will actually help you practice humility—you will choose to do the most humane thing, the actions and words most pleasing to God to feed the other person!This might be one of the greatest lessons I learned about humility along with learning to keep a large bottle of humility next to my bed with the label reading: “Humility: One large spoonful to be taken every morning and evening” metaphorically speaking. (Credit for the quote goes to Rita Davenport, the most important teacher of my early adulthood stage of life)
Sister Deanna, your words are a great encouragement to me. I’ve always struggled with a desire for approval. Right now there are one or two situations that come to mind where an others centered attitude could only benefit all parties concerned. How might these “difficult” individuals repond if I treated them with respect? How might relationships begin to heal? And how might my “need” for approval dissipate? Thank you for sharing this bit of wisdom.
Dear Sr Becca,
I’m glad my brother’s wisdom (really the Holy Spirit’s 😉 ) has helped both you and me! Please pray for him. I think you and I were talking about him in good faith the other day. This is the one who graduated Queen of Angels and then attended St John’s in Camarillo CA as he felt called to the priesthood. I think if he had known of Anglicanism he would have become a great priest. But the conditions of the RCC seminaries were corrupting and he left a broken spirit. I fear many generational demons continued to assault him and he became enslaved to vices that have taken him far away from his first love–God Our Father. But all things are possible with God and so Our Lord God alone is my hope.
Sr Deana
This discussion encourages deep reflection on attitudes towards gifts, love, and humility. I feel great humility for the gifts that God has given to me, although, I admit, not always gratitude because sometimes those gifts have not always been easy to practice. Nor have they always been welcomed by other people or institutions where I have attempted to do “God’s work.” More than once, I have questioned why God seems to have led me to a particular place and time, only to be faced with insurmountable barriers or exhausting conflicts. Humbling experiences indeed! Perhaps the development of humility was the point, or perhaps other spiritual growth was necessary, for instance, in areas of forbearance, faithfulness, or self-control. I confess that I have sometimes retreated when I should have persevered, but, ironically, I know there were also times that I persevered when I should have retreated. It is only through prayer that I remain sufficiently grounded in how to use the gifts God has provided for His purposes. I believe these gifts have changed over the years, and more than once, the sin of pride has made it difficult for me to surrender the use of a skill so I clearly see what I was meant to do next. The image of a fruit tree going through the stages of budding, blossoming, bearing fruit, and dormancy is one that came to me very strongly during a spiritual retreat a long time ago, and that image has helped me to accept sometimes painful transitions over the years as natural and necessary in my service to God.
Blessings,
MaggieRemember that Christ admonished his disciples to “shake the dust off of their feet” and move on when the town was not receptive”. Sometimes, we must do the same.
Maggie, I can identify strongly with so much of what you shared. For the last couple of years, I’ve been in what seems like a season of continual transition. Perhaps it would be more helpful for me to look at it as a season of learning to surrender.
Your image of the life cycle of the fruit tree was particularly striking for me. Am I in a season of dormancy at the moment? The thing is…
When a plant is in its dormant phase, growth and fruit are not obvious above ground, but the root system is going deeper and preparing to support the visible life of the plant through the stresses of spring blossoming and summer drought and heat, so that luscious fruit is produced come fall. This is why it’s best to plant and prune in late fall, so that the root system gets well established before the plant encounters the stresses of other seasons.
Maggie, you’ve given me much to ponder! Blessings, sister!
Sr. Becca, I appreciate your deepening of the analogy of the fruit tree very much. You have made it even more vital for me by reflecting on what actually happens during dormant periods. I will keep this image in mind as I evaluate my progress in preparation for finalizing my rule of life. Thank you for your understanding of why the seasons of the fruit tree carry such spiritual power.
Blessings,
Maggie
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