"Heart of the Artist", part III: Chapter Two

Humility is a concept that I have always found fascinating. Like many, I have often admired it from afar. Very rarely have I had what I would call a true taste of it. But sometimes I catch fleeting glimpses.

Pride – or a desire to be exalted by others – isn’t always the primary enemy of humility for me. In my life, humility has more often been warded off by a simple preoccupation with self. Self-concern. Self-centeredness. Sure, I get overly concerned with others’ opinions of me. But more often I’m just overly concerned that I get what I want.

So what is humility? In Noland’s quote of C.S. Lewis on page 59, humility is equated with “self-forgetfulness”. Where does self-awareness fit in relation to humility? Is humility a lack of self-awareness? Or is it simply a proper view of self?

Is it that I find the truest and best Jeff when I take my eyes off Jeff and focus instead on Christ? If this is the case, then taking eyes off self (or fighting self-absorption) doesn’t equal “self-forgetfulness”, but rather a true and appropriate self-awareness. Truly this is a topic of great subtlety and nuance, but I find it reassuring that Moses’ prayer in Psalm 90:17 (and on pg. 70) – “Lord, give permanence to the works of my hands” – is counted an appropriate and faithful expression of self which is self-aware, yet fully humble.

Changing gears:
I thought Noland’s discussion on volunteering versus being called of God (pp. 70-74) was very insightful and keen. In my experience, some people just get this and some just don’t. I don’t know how to effectively turn a volunteer into someone called by God. Just a guess, though: Maybe it’s because I’m not God! So any level of exhortation or challenges to “step up” that I may issue only make somebody called by Jeff. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few.

Lord, call your servants to the work of the harvest!