“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by
the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their
heads. ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘let the Lord rescue him. Let
him deliver him since he delights in him.’” (Psalm 22:6-8, NIV)
William Law joined de Sales and other saints in examining the
practice of humility.
“To be humble in all our actions, to avoid every appearance of pride
and vanity, to be meek and lowly in our words, actions, dress, behavior,
and designs, imitation of our blessed Savior, is worshipping God in a
higher manner than they who have only times to fall low on their knees
in devotions. He that contents himself with necessaries, that he may
give the remainder to those who want it; that dares not to spend any
money foolishly, because he considers it as a talent from God which
must be used according to His will, praises God with something more
glorious than songs of praise.”
Meek and humble are frequently used interchangeably, but together
or separately, they are often misunderstood. That’s one reason de Sales
encouraged his readers to “be meek with yourself.” We may think
being meek and humble requires self-denial and self-depreciation. To
be sure, in our Christian walk there is a paramount place for self-denial,
but there is no place for self-depreciation or any form of devaluing the
self. Misunderstanding this dimension of the Gospel shows limited
grasp of true humility. Christian humility doesn’t express itself as an,
“I’ll be your doormat” stance, or else we have thought of humility only
as recognition of weakness and limitation.
Not so: the truly humble know who they are – their strength as well
as their weakness. For this reason, Law could make the case that we
are to use all we have, “as a talent from God to be used according to
his will.” When we do, “it praises God with something more glorious
than songs of praise.”
Paul not only admonished us not to deceive ourselves by thinking
we are something which we are not (Rom. 12) but urged us to examine
ourselves so that we will rejoice in ourselves. We need to learn to affirm
strength. Christian character is not pictured in terms of loss of self or
anemic living. To be forgiven and accepted by God, to realize that God
knows us and loves us thoroughly, to be commissioned and made a
child and heir is to be made a new person in Christ, to be given a
vocation. All this means “to be Christian is to be strong in God, and
with God.”
In our Psalm, the writer fell into a pit of self-depreciation,
addressing himself as “worm.” He moans about how he is mocked and
insulted. Note how his “enemies” respond: “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him since he delights in him.” Even in his moaning, it
was redemptive for the psalmist to know the Lord “delights in him.”
Nothing should delight us more!
Moment of Reflection: Are changes necessary for you to be honest
in your humility?
Prayer: Creator God, forgive me for thinking too highly of myself, but
give me the will and the strength to claim that you delight in me. In the
love of Christ, I pray. Amen
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