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One of the things that I am reminded of is that, like many personality traits, kindness (and humility) are something that I need to continually practice. It is not, in that sense, a "one and done" kind of thing.
In some cases I can predict when my kindness will be at a low ebb: Early morning, for example. After a contentious meeting. The moment on Tuesdays when I realize it is not Wednesday and the week seems to suddenly get longer. These moments conspire to reduce the things I should be - kind, humble, generous, loving - to as small a trait as possible.
But it is especially in those moments that I need to practice them all the more.
The longer I live (and the longer I write these kinds of series), the more I become convinced that things like kindness and humility are important. Not just because of the practice themselves, but the model that they provide.
I do not feel it is beyond the pale to say that if anything, our society has become even more "me-centric" than ever. It does not help that as a consumer society, the market is set up to meet our needs and desires; many people have extended that same belief to almost everything around them. "We" are the most important thing going on in our minds.
Which is why good models matter all the more. Because people need to see that good people still exist and can practice character traits which seem not to benefit themselves directly at all, but benefit the world greatly.
So stay kind. Stay humble. The world indeed needs such reminders.
I remember when a prayer slapped me in the face, "God keep me humble." Presumptuous. "God, make me humble" was too scary to contemplate praying. But the verse says, "humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." And, "don't think more highly of yourself than you should." Also, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." The steps are there. And the indwelling Spirit can live that out through us as we cooperate with Him. "Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."
ReplyDeleteOh, that is a good one STxAR. "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord." It definitely changes one's perspective.
DeleteI often go back to those verses in Philippians as a reminder to myself as well.
It seems that there is a connection between kindness and where our attention is focused. The more "me" focused we are, the less kind we are. The more other focused we are, the kinder we are able to be.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I agree. The times I find myself least kind are when I am consumed with myself and how the situation is going to impact me, or has impacted me for the worse. If I can get out of that loop, it is surprising how much easier it is to be kind and/or humble.
DeleteI have a hard time thinking of people, who I know (including myself), who seem genuinely humble and kind, and graciously display these attributes. They do not seem to have to struggle at it as hard as the rest of us. Interestingly, the two people who jump to mind are both from the south, a woman raised in Georgia, and a man from Virginia.
ReplyDeleteAnonJ - In speaking about humility and humble people, C.S. Lewis noted that they would impress us with how concerned they were in speaking with us and how they did not seem to pay attention to themselves at all.
DeleteI do wonder if that focusing on others (in the right way) and not ourselves (again, in the right way) is a key.
What with the prevalence of cell phones and social media resulting, the "me me me" population appears to be rising TB. Being kind or humble seems to be a reach for more and more folk. Given a choice between self-centered or kind/humble I'll take the latter every time.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I am greatly prone to the Computer In My Pocket challenge as well. I am working hard on it, but it still so easy to just focus on me at that moment and how things there cater to me.
DeleteFor some reason, I never connected the dots of how a consumer society feeds into the "me-centric" population but you are right on both counts.
ReplyDelete