Saint Augustine
Humility is one of the cardinal principles to be observed on the road to prosperity. It has been defined as the quality of being courteously respectful of others. Of late, the following expressions have been taken to mean humility; “Yes sir Massa, boss, and the rest”. But humility entails more than this superficial affectations.
In Proverbs 22:4, the Bible says that “humility and the fear of the Lord bringest wealth and honor and life”. Most often, our ambitions and aspirations imprisons our conscience. The resultant is abuse of other people, chronic aggressiveness, arrogance, disrespect, and others. Respecting people for who they are, believing in their potential to excel and celebrating their success, no matter how little it may be, is a prerequisite for a humble life.
Humility doesn’t mean sycophancy. Many people who have made such correlation have become perpetual boot-lickers of certain arrogant and disrespectful individuals. Humility should be a holistic syndrome which should manifest physically and spiritually, which is characterized by constructive criticisms, selflessness, clean speech and non-judgementality. In James 4:11-12, the Bible says that “Don't criticize and speak evil about each other, dear brothers. If you do, you will be fighting against God's law of loving one another, declaring it is wrong. But your job is not to decide whether this law is right or wrong, but to obey it. Only he who made the law can rightly judge among us. He alone decides to save us or destroy. So what right do you have to judge or criticize others unnecessarily? (Last word and emphasis mine).
If humility is exercised in the home, school, workplaces, and other spheres of our life, strife and vile agitations would be buried.
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