“You need not boast when you have the answers. You need not judge when you know you are right. You need not exaggerate when others don’t believe. You need not defend yourself when being ridiculed.” – Angelyn Co
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” – Luke 6: 42
Humility is accepting criticism from others.
We all have blind spots. We all have attitudes we aren’t proud of. When brought into the light, many of us excuse this behavior by saying, “This is how I really am”, “I was born this way”, “Accept me completely”. While this is true, there are consequences:
1. You impede your personal growth.
Most of the time, when someone had the guts to point out your mistake, that someone cares for you. That someone wanted you to understand an area in your life where you can improve.
For example, Charlie confronted you of a selfish comment you gave to one of your friends and you say, “Come on, lighten up! You should by this time, already know who I am and how I talk.”
By saying this, not only have you personally tagged yourself as what Charlie confronted you with: selfish/rude. You have told Charlie to look at you in that way. Thus, the next time a similar incident occurs, he will be smart enough to ignore you – which brings us to the second consequence.
2. You create a gap.
In context, when you want others to accept you for who you are, you also need to accept who they are. Some friends can be rude when correcting you – tactless with their words.
By shrugging off an opportunity to grow, regardless of this person’s character, motive or choice of words, it will be your loss. It is your perspective that counts.
When you accept your friend’s correction, you also give your friend a seat of importance in your life. It is also a means of telling him, you have the right to tell me what needs to be corrected.
Doing the opposite, leaves a connotation that we’re just ‘good time’ buddies. Don’t cross the line.
Humility is accepting your weaknesses.
Charles Stanley, in his book Relationship Principles of Jesus, also made me reflect that the trait or attitude we despise from other people is the same exact attitude that we possess. Similarly, if I may I add, it may also be true that the reason why you dislike someone is because you’re jealous of that person: you wish you had something she has or you hope to be in the position she is in.
I didn’t want to believe this either when I first heard it from a Bible Study. But based on personal experience, I encourage you that once you feel a tingle of dislike in your heart, take it as a warning to check your heart. It might just be you who is in the wrong.
Grab every opportunity to learn. Be humble.