The Next President of The United States

What role does humility play in a race for the White House? Does the average voter care if a candidate is overly cocky and conceited and lacks humility? Do the two very important characteristics of genuineness and authenticity require that humility be detectable? People want a president who is strong and confident but there is a point at which strength becomes meanness and confidence becomes arrogance. That line is crossed when humility is tossed aside as unimportant. Here is my prediction. Regardless of the selections Obama and McCain make for vice-presidential running mates, Americans will elect the man who maintains a level of humility that is respectable and appropriate. We admire the quality of humility in our powerful leadership. We want politicians to remember their roots and keep pride in check. We want them to remember the voters who put them in office and to accept their daily responsibilities with humbleness. We are offended when they get puffed- up and make decisions without regard to those whom they represent. We have seen far too many politicians move from nobleness to rottenness, from statesman-like to reprobate-like , and from estimable to egotistical. We fully realize that the man who shows no signs of humility during an election campaign, will not demonstrate humility later in the oval office. Past presidential elections have been won by the candidate who was the most humble. The same will happen this year. Watch the Democrat and Republican nominees from the conventions, through the debates, to the day we all go to the polls. The man who through it all is the most deficient in humility will be the man who loses. The next president of the United States will be . . . the one most humble.

I Am Embarrassed To Say So

I am perfectly capable of embarrassing myself without any outside help. I can fall on my face without being pushed. I’m not bragging, I’m braying. Embarrassment is not a measurement of humility. An embarrassing moment can be an opportunity for humility. It is equally opportunity for the emergence of pride. When pride kicks in, the awkward moment becomes a foolish moment, a strange moment becomes a deranged moment, a fumble becomes a fiasco, mental clumsiness turns into mental collapse, and a boo-boo turns into pooh-pooh. There is something about an embarrassment that puts us on the defense. That something is self-centeredness and pride. Afraid of losing face, pride steps forward and makes sure we do. Afraid of injuring our ego, pride takes control and fractures our self-respect. Pride is our enemy, not our friend. When you stumble, don’t be arrogant. Be humble.

Humility will take the sting out of an embarrassing moment. Lowliness allows the observer of your mishap to have a moment of delight but inhibits the need for him to rub your nose in it. When we are humble, we can laugh at our most shameful slipups. Humility is the characteristic of not taking self too seriously. When self is not the center of our world, getting our self in a pickle is not the end of our world. Humility works wonder on a blunder. It is always the best reaction to humiliation. But, it takes discipline. It takes self-control. Pride is the reaction of the undisciplined. That ought to tell us something about the foolishness of it. Let humility be your choice and you will not only survive those occasions when one of your two left feet is in your mouth, but you will take pleasure in the taste and walk better because of it. I don’t know what that means, but because I’m humble it’s okay.

Taking A Bullet

Humility involves taking a step away from self and toward another. When one is humble that can happen. Pride is self-centered and unable to detach from one’s own self-interests. The size of the step away from self will involve increasingly greater amounts of self-sacrifice. Throwing one’s self on a grenade or taking a bullet for someone reveals a courageous and heroic spirit but also requires humility. Let me qualify that statement. If the acts just mentioned are nothing more than trained or programmed reflexes, then they may not involve humility or courage or heroism. I would like to believe even hardened professional soldiers do not react from a purely programmed impulse. There must also be courage and humility present for the bravest decision to be made, even if those are also learned.

Smaller steps away from self are also commendable. Self-sacrifice, and thus humility, are required in order to bite your tongue when there is temptation to attack, allow someone else to be the center of attention, absorb unjust criticism, listen a little longer than you would like, allow someone else’s idea to eclipse your own, take the blame for someone else’s mistake, applaud something you might rather criticize, bend instead of stiffen, smile instead of scowl, agree when you have every right to disagree, and choose peace when anyone else in your shoes would start a war. None of these are easy. In fact they all demand the strength of true humility. They are all a little bit like taking a bullet or falling on a grenade. You might even say some of these situations feel like being nailed to a cross. Following Christ, as we take up our cross daily, involves learning a lot about the humility of Christ. He stepped away from himself to bear our burden. He sacrificed his life, so that we could live. “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)

What Does Humility Look Like?

What does an humble person look like? Some people would describe them as simple in appearance, bland colored clothing, head bowed, shoulders forward, shy and unnoticeable. When spoken to their voice is soft and answers uncertain. They have few aspirations and low energy. They lack passion and wouldn’t hurt a fly. They are usually alone and no one wants to emulate their poor, unlovely, pathetic life of humility.

It is no wonder people are not interested in pursuing the humble life when that is their vision of it. That isn’t how I see humility at all. An humble person is quietly confident; not boisterous, but not woeful either. He or she is driven to achieve that which will benefit the world. Their passion is pure and free from selfish intent. They take delight in the people around them. Their joy or sorrow reflects their compassion and concern for others. If they are unnoticed, it is because they are continually directing attention away from themselves. Their inner strength is enormous and they do not need praise or credit to pump them up. They are excited about being a part of the world, not the center of it. This is the humble person. He or she chooses a path of lowliness, not listlessness; of meekness, not meaninglessness; of gentleness, not genitallessness. They are unpretentious, not unambitious. They are reverent, not irrelevant.

Don’t believe everything you read in a dictionary or Thesaurus about the meaning of humility. Believe the Biblical models that represent for us the humble life. There are great men and women in the Bible like Noah, Naomi, Samuel, Esther, Daniel, Mary, John, Tabitha, Barnabas, the mother of Timothy, and Jesus our Lord. These are men and women from whom we can learn humility. These are men and women who can provide us a proper picture of how an humble person looks.