Humble: Verb or Adjective?

The other day, a co-worker and I were discussing something. He, being Pentecostal, and I, ascribing to Eastern Orthodoxy, certainly have our differences. I’m not sure what the original subject was, but we landed on the topic of humility. Both of us had a lot of trouble defining the word “humble”.

According to Oxford, “humble” is an adjective which means:

     Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.

This would is probably a sufficient definition for the use of the word in common, everyday language. In all outward appearances, the person whom we describe as “humble” expresses his or her humility in the form of actions. Thus, it is often difficult to define “humble” without using an example. The definition is more in line with a “verb” or action rather than the adjective that it should be. Humility should be described as an attribute or, in the Christian sense, a spiritual condition.

The question at hand is, how should one define the actual “condition” of being “humble”? If one is working toward possessing such a condition, what is it they are actually working for? Alexander Schmemann, in chapter 1 of his popular Great Lent: Journey to Pascha, insisted that God was also humble. He explained this opinion by defining “humility” as essentially being synonymous with “completeness”. God is humble because praise adds nothing to His Glory. In the same way, a humble Christian should never allow worldly praise to build his or her pride. Alexander Schmemann wrote more than once on “humility”, and he better defines and explains this position in chapter 2 of the same work, as excerpted in an article posted here.

As it stands, perhaps the simplest definition for “humility” would be:

     Possessing accurate knowledge of one’s self.

This definition, while encompassing Alexander Schmemann’s, probably better conveys the Christian sense of the word. God is indeed humble in that He has an accurate knowledge of Himself. No human being is nearly as humble as God. In humanity, however, humility would involve knowledge of the depth of one’s own sinfulness.

A relative and I were messaging one another concerning her recent visit to a 7^th Day Adventist church in our hometown. Her experience was generally positive and she was very excited about the fact that they did “feet washing”. My Great Grandmother, who goes to a Primitive Baptist church, does feet washing as well. She went on to explain to me that it was to show humility just as Jesus did.

This is certainly a noble idea. But it lead me to wonder about whether it was effectively displaying real humility or was it an exercise to develop humility. In the parable, The Publican and the Pharisee, we get the sense that the Pharisee probably performed all of the tasks that are designed to display humility toward God. The Publican, as we know, actually possessed humility before God.

Prefacing the following with the statement that my Great Grandmother is an exceptionally humble woman, she takes a great deal of pride in the fact that her church does these practices as an act of humility. Perhaps the take home lesson is to recognize the many acts of piety within the Orthodox Church should be used as tools to gain humility, rather than performing them as displays of humility. If the lesson is taken to heart and we actually begin to possess humility, we will display it as a natural expression of ourselves.