"Humility and Pride: Are They In Conflict?"

By David Houle, Lay Liturgy September 02, 2007

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24
Luke 14:1, 7-14

It’s amazing how time flies, isn’t it. It was 10 years ago, this past Friday, that Princess Diana died in that tragic car accident. When I think about humility, I often think of Diana. She was someone that took a good deal of her time doing volunteer work and helping people. She campaigned against landmines. She spent time with people who were HIV positive. Something royalty or politicians weren’t known for doing.

Also, 10 years ago, this coming Tuesday, is the anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death. Someone who ministered to the needs of the poor, the sick, and the orphaned throughout her entire life. Also, humble. Mother Theresa’s death was even overshadowed by that of Princess Diana’s. It’s the way Mother Theresa would have wanted it.

When I think about humble examples in life, I also think of Jimmy Carter. He promoted global health, volunteered with Habitat for the Humanity, a program that helped low income working people buy homes. And receiver of the Nobel Peace Price in 2002. Jimmy Carter would be the first to admit that he wasn’t the best and didn’t particularly enjoy the “ceremonial functions” of his presidency. He wasn’t much for pomp and circumstance. Just a good man trying his best to make a difference in the world.

We hope to emulate people like this. We have a desire to be as humble as they are.

In tonight’s gospel we hear that “whoever exalts himself or herself shall be humbled and whoever humbles herself or himself shall be exalted”. Jimmy, Diana, and Mother Teresa—all great examples of people who humbled themselves.

But how does “humbleness”, how does “humility” fit in our lives? I think for many of us in the LGBT community…the concept of humility is a difficult one. We’ve been taught that humility is one of the virtues in the Bible. We’ve also been taught that “pride” is the opposite of “humility” and is one of the “seven deadly sins”, perhaps the “worst” of the deadly sins.

As young girls and boys, we've been told that “humbleness” or “humility” is a gift from God…And in its most basic teaching—having the quality of humility keeps us from being boastful, self-important, pretentious, and arrogant. Humility shows us that everything we receive in life is a gift from God.

We also learn that “pride” is all about conceit, vanity, elitism, and snobbery. We are carefully taught about the virtues of humility and the danger of being boastful, the danger of having “pride”….So early on, humility is good and pride is bad.

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people…many of us have experienced a great deal of oppression through our lifetime….We’ve had to fight to be recognized for who we truly are….As a result of this struggle, we worked hard on developing a strong sense of positive self-identity, one might say a strong sense of “pride”….But, wait, isn’t pride a bad thing—remember conceit, vanity, elitism, snobbery…. Our community actually speaks of pride from a different perspective….Pride in the LGBT community is spoken of in terms such as “self-esteem” “self-respect” “self-worth” and “Dignity”….We get the sense of “pride” as being something that’s positive, something that’s good.

Perhaps, many of us in the community also sometimes feel those less-than-positive feelings that can surround “humility”. Some of us my think or feel of humility as being “meek” “demure” or perhaps even “self-loathing”… We don’t put these high on the pedestal of qualities that we wish to have…Maybe many of us remember times when we were “meek”, when we were “self-loathing”, or times in our lives when we “went small” and we wish we hadn’t…Not happy times for us….Do we equate “humility” with these times?

So, is “humility” good and “pride” bad? Or is “pride” good and “humility” bad? Are pride and humility in opposition to one another?

If we think of “pride” as putting another down to make ourselves look better that I’d argue that pride is bad….If we think of humility as “self-loathing” than I’d argue that humility serves no purpose for us.

I do believe that humility is God’s gift to us….It makes us ever-aware that we are created by a God who loves us and who gives us many gifts to share with the rest of the world.

I also believe the pride is a gift from our God and works to allow us to share our gifts with one another.

So often we confuse “pride” with “chauvinism”. “Chauvinism” says that I’m wonderful and that you’re not. I have gifts and you don’t. Or I have gifts and they are so much better than yours.

“Pride” tells us that we all gifts. Gifts to share with one another that are all, indeed, wonderful.

So let us be humble and let us show our “pride”. Like Mother Teresa, Jimmy, and Diana, let the complimentary nature of these two beautiful gifts be forever intertwined.

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