Last month, we received an inspirational text message from a prayer partner of ours. It said:
The greater your position, the greater should be your humility... If you know how to preserve humility amidst honors and dignitites, you will acquire real merit and virtue, for humility amidst greatness is the grandest accompaniment of honors, the dignity of dignities, without which there is no true excellence.
- Ven. Louis of Granada
IHaving read this, we looked back and remembered all the leaders we have had the privilege to know. In ministry work, it is understood that "we have to be humble" so pride among leaders comes in the more subtle forms. Sometimes it comes in the emphasis of or requirement to be called titles and designation: "I have to be called this... Kindly address me as... Uhm, I am the _____________ of __________." Sometimes, there are people who namedrops to make sure you know that he is rubbing elbows with the powers that be. There are others who pepper conversations with achievements they have done. You will notice that you are not drawn to these personalities but you actually feel a certain distance from them with the prominence and authority that they are trying to establish.
On the other hand, those we met who had shown genuine meekness, humility and warmth are the ones who inspired us the most and have fueled our journey to go greater distances. They are the ones we hold dear in our hearts and left a lasting impression in our lives. And I think it's because that was the model Jesus portrayed. He had to go down from heaven to our level, even to the point that He washed His own disciples' feet. He humbled Himself to draw us to Him in the grandest way only the God of the Universe can think of.
So yeah, humility is indeed the grandest accompaniment of honors.
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