[Mere Christianity] Humility

Humility

Of course, it is very right, and often our duty, not to care what people think of us, if we do so for the right reason; namely, because we care so incomparably more what God thinks. But the Proud man has a different reason for not caring. He says 'Why should I care for the applause of that rabble as if their opinion were worth anything? ... They're nothing to me.' In this way real thoroughgoing pride may act as a check on vanity; for, as I said a moment ago, the devil loves 'curing' a small fault by giving you a great one. We must try not to be vain, but we must never call in our Pride to cure our vanity.

On this point of Pride, I think it is worthwhile to examine the relationship between vanity, pride, and humility. All three states of mind (if I may call them such) display some similar outward traits based on completely opposite interior circumstances. Neither pride nor humility places great stock in the approval of peers; neither pride nor vanity exists without a presupposed scale of 'greatness' by which to judge; neither humility nor vanity is quick to identify itself by its proper name. (By this last point, I mean simply that a vain man will excuse himself as 'attentive to the concerns of others' while a humble man will, upon looking to God, declare that he is wretchedly prideful.)

How does one fall onto the journey from humility to vanity, or from vanity to pride? I say 'fall onto' because nobody consciously chooses to become vain or proud. It is clear that the path away from humility begins with taking one's thoughts and meditations off of God. As long as a person maintains a clear and constant focus on God's greatness, I cannot imagine a case of pride or vanity rising from within. Which only leaves the question of where vanity ends and pride begins.

At first glance, Pride seems to be simply the extreme of vanity. Upon closer inspection, though, it seems that vanity turns to pride where a person's own opinion of himself becomes more important than the opinion of his peers. Up until this point, it is always possible to confront a vain person on his vanity, since it is the opinion of his friends is what he strives to please. If his friends disapprove of his vanity, it is quite possible that he will see his error and set his eyes once more upon God. However, once vanity has turned to true and brutal pride, a man cannot be confronted by his peers, for you will find that his respect for any dissenters has been deteriorated by the pride which has been allowed to consume him. At this point, I suspect that nothing but a glimpse of God's Glory can bring a man back from the depths of pride that plague the soul.



In case you cannot guess, I do feel as though I am speaking from experience here.