The Discomfort of Humility

My eyes scanned my tiny dorm room as the bright light from the window told me I missed my alarm again. I had great hopes for my 5:30 AM shift at my campus dining court, but my body wasn’t ready for the responsibility. As I rushed to clock-in, I prayed  for leniency and just one more chance. I poured out apologies to the shift supervisor, who held the power to end my first real job with another strike on my record. But she didn’t. She gave me another chance. For the remainder of my shift, I worked with thankfulness, but more importantly, I sat in the uncomfortable place of humility. I was forced to linger in my inability- an inability to give anything back. All I could do was  receive, and I was better for it.

I wonder how often we rob ourselves of the chance to let humility work in our hearts. While we know we can’t earn our salvation, how often do we carry that truth in our day-to-day interactions? We are regularly met with opportunities to receive grace from our brothers and sisters in Christ- whether it’s forgiveness for a wrong or through provision of needs we can’t fill by ourselves. Often our first reaction is to find a way to return the favor, make it up to them, and quickly remedy our feelings of inadequacy. While restitution is important, sometimes moving too quickly past the work of humility can actually steal our opportunity for growth….

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