Suggested Emphasis
“Let all parties think humbly of others...each of you looking to others’ interests rather than your own.”
Salesian Perspective
To live humbly, as St. Augustine said, is to live in the truth: the truth about God, the truth about ourselves, the truth about others. This living in the truth is no mere intellectual exercise: it is something that should make a profound difference in the way we live our lives.
St. Francis de Sales saw Jesus Christ as the perfect model of humility. What was the truth about Jesus? First, he was divine. Second, Christ did not selfishly cling to his divine nature. Third, Christ generously and freely shared his power (in conformity with the Father's will) with individual men, women and children in a particular time, in a particular space and in a particular place in human history. Fourth, so enamored of us was Christ that he shared his divinity with us by becoming fully human: experiencing birth, celebrating life, embracing death.
The mystery of his self-emptying is only fully understood in the light of his divine power. The significance of his humility is all the greater when seen as an expression of his absolute generosity. His service to us is all the more remarkable when we consider it should have been us serving him.
To be humble is to live in the truth as Jesus did. Like Christ, we must first acknowledge that since we are made in the image and likeness of God, we, too, are good. Second, we have to acknowledge that our God-given dignity is not meant to serve our own needs alone; rather, we are created to “look to others’ interests rather than our own.” Third, we acknowledge that as good and beautiful and holy as the created order may be, our ultimate glory is to live forever in heaven. Fourth, we walk in the belief that only those who lay down their lives in service each day will be raised up on the last day.
Our glory is not found in clinging to our God-given dignity and destiny. No, our power is most vividly and powerfully glorified when we use that dignity and destiny to reach out to one another in love. Like Christ, we are most powerful when we devote ourselves to pursuing the health, holiness and happiness of others.
Like Christ, humble servants know that they can be truly happy only by making their very best effort every day to “make complete” the joy of others. By emptying ourselves, we make more room for others…and in the process, coming to know the fullness of joy ourselves by becoming fully human as God intends.
To be sure, every knee must bend in heaven, on earth and under the earth before the presence of the Almighty. However, we who walk in the presence of God must also stand tall for and live in the truth: for God, for ourselves, and especially, for one another.
