HUMILITY
Over
the years, have heard many discussions, relative to the above subject
matter, in an abundance of anonymous fellowship meetings. Let us go
straight to the truth.
Then Jesus said,
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because
I am humble...." (Matthew
11:28-29 TB)
Then Jesus shouted,
“Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.
(Luke 23:46 TB)
12. Having had a
spiritual awakening as the result of these steps (or
others - depending on which fellowship you are in), we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
(bigbook page 60)
Both you and the new man must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress. If you persist, remarkable things will happen. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God's hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!
(bigbook page 100)
Now
tell me how humble we are, or even what capacity we have for humility,
unless we are, by grace, given the gift of the spiritual awakening, which
includes and embraces humility, God's son's awakened and resurrected
spirit.
There
are many clichés that must have been accepted, beyond an individual's
experience, strength, or hope, decades ago. Personally, have known quite a
few people that associated with, or at least knew a few of the
original pioneers.
Seems
to me that those people heard from the earliest pioneers ideas that were
just passed along, from meeting to meeting, without understanding. Have not heard any of
those trite expressions of late. But generally, it was a canned talk
about humility, that included several clichés.
To
tell more of the truth, it also seems to me that the earliest pioneers
seemed to have a "godhood" attitude. The 12 & 12
states, in one of the traditions that the fellowship was on the
"pious side," at that time - in the early days. There is a
world of difference between a godhood - pious, and the Godhead.
But
the beginning quotes indicate that scriptures declare that Jesus was, is,
and will always be, humble. There is a definite warning, in the book
of The Revelation, against changing any of the scriptures.
But
obviously, Jesus became spirit, at his crucifixion. And finally,
along the path of successful anonymous recovery, low and behold, we are
awakened into God's Son's spirit. However, there is a difference
between his son's spirit, and God's Spirit. Don't know exactly what
all of the differences are, but if I could explain it, I would be
God. Each individual learns a lot about the mysteries and miracles
of God, so that they can understand it, but that does not mean that any of
us
can put it all into words. The scriptures do declare, in a variety
of verses, that God is Spirit, and God is love.
It
dawned on me, at over twenty years of abstinence that I have never been
humble in my entire life. Nor do I ever expect to be humble. I
have a keen sense of who I am, and what I am capable of, being the human
being that I am. Sure am glad that we are awakened into a spirit
that is humble, and the more we become anonymous, in our daily routines,
the more of his spirit's humility can be displayed, to those that are
observant.
Let
us now take a look at what a definition of humility is:
The quality or condition of being humble.
A disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride.
A prominent Christian grace.
It is a "great paradox in Christianity that it makes humility
the avenue to glory."
humble:
a.
Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful.
b.
Showing deferential or submissive respect.
c.
Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly.
Now
let us get a handle on the definition of pride, before we address
the very human trait of false pride:
1.
A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect.
2.
Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or
association.
3.
Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.
4.
A cause or source of pleasure or satisfaction; the best of a group or
class.
5.
The most successful or thriving condition; prime: the pride of youth.
6.
An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit.
Not
all pride is bad. It is good, in my opinion, that Americans are
proud of what America stands for, and defends globally; freedom.
Have
observed, over the years, a few in the anonymous community, that appear to
have humility in their lives, but judge that trait as false pride, today,
with the spirit of discernment that is available. They really believe that they are humble, rather than
accepting God's son's humility, in his spirit. They still depend on
the ways of this world, rather than depending on God. In other
words, they have an agenda centered on self, rather than a vision of God's
will, centered in the divine Self, that is actually selfless, regarding
human nature. Other phrases that define that condition are spiritual
intoxication, and spiritual make believe.
I
have not a clue on how to judge the attitude of the terrorists, based on
all of their killing, but viewed an amazing statement, on the "Inside
9/11" program, produced by the the History Channel
recently.
"We love death, and the Americans love
life," is a statement attributed to bin Laden, according to that
documentary. Sure would be nice if all Americans embraced life, but
a huge percentage disagree. Over forty millions babies have been
killed, in recent years, under the disguise of a woman's right to
choose. How about the unborn baby's equal rights?
Certainly,
at the beginning of my spiritual awakening, there was a period of time,
when my life and world vanished, and my vocabulary was no longer
pertinent, regarding my career, because it had ended, and old friends were
gone, along with all of the perks of the old life. It was like I
found my self in a foreign country, and I did not speak the
language. Yes, it was a pain that persisted, to the point of
desiring suicide, for quite a season of time. What I understand about that
severe depression today was that I experienced self-pity to the extreme.
That feeling of
uselessness
and selfpity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Selfseeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
(bigbook page 84)
