Losing the Self In my work as a chaplain, I have more than once borne witness to the agony of young adults losing their minds to psychosis. At times, they are convinced nothing is wrong, that the voices, the confused thoughts, the threatening visions are more real than the professionals who would deny their truth. This does not mean these young people are content. Living with someone else’s words in your head can be disconcerting, and also terrifying. If you do realize that the person you call “myself” is slipping away, it can be even more terrifying. How heartbreaking to become your own stranger. One moment, we are trusting in…
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The Humble Heart
Rewards for the Humble It’s a common theme in folklore, the youngest brother or sister who makes good after the older ones fail, or the reviled stepsister who earns riches through her compassion, industriousness, and obedience, while her lazy and disrespectful sibling earns beatings or tarring or death. In “Mother Holle,” a Brother’s Grimm tale, the ill-treated girl is sent by her stepmother to fetch a spindle she dropped down the well, so she jumps in. She lands, though, not in the water, but on a grassy knoll. Seeing a meadow of flowers, she walks toward it. On the way, she passes by a baker’s oven. The bread inside calls…
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The Least Will Become Great
The Least Among You When the evangelist Luke writes in Chapter Nine of his gospel that “the least among all of you is the greatest,” the sentiment is not new for the reader. In Matthew, for instance, when he’s berating the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, Jesus says, “The greatest among you shall be your servant,” and “whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 23:11-12). [1] Humility was probably not a popular concept back then. It’s not particularly popular now, either, at least not in Western cultures. In hunter-gatherer societies, however, being humble is often more acceptable. Frans de Waal gives an example of such humility from the !Kung…
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Pride and Humility
The Danger of Pride The Bible has a lot to say about the dangers of pride and the importance of humility. Chapter 23 of Matthew, for instance, includes the often quoted sentence, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted” (23:12). In Proverbs, we read, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18). James 4:6 states, “Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” But is pride always bad? The other day, I was talking with a young man who insisted pride could be a good thing. Because of pride, we accomplish deeds we…
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Hubris, Humility, and Recovery
Arachne’s Hubris For generations, all around the world, people have told stories that warn us of the dangers of hubris. When we think we don’t need the gods, or that we’re better than the gods, that’s hubris, and it always leads – at least in the stories – to disaster. Take the Greek myth about Arachne, a young woman renowned for her skill in weaving. Her tapestries were so beautiful that royalty came from far and wide, and nymphs came out of the woodland, to admire her creations. According to legend, all weavers owed their talent to the goddess Athena, but Arachne refused to thank the goddess. Instead, she claimed…
