Most of us have had our share of good fortune and/or have been blessed with a special talent. When we succeed or use our talents to do something great, it’s hard to not proclaim it to everyone. We like to sweep our imperfections under the rug, while accentuating our strengths. Perhaps one of the hardest virtues to master is humility.
Social media is a great tool to stay connected with many different people, but it can also be used to show off and brag. Look what I got to do. Look what I have. See how smart, beautiful, or even how holy I am. Not many people post online about their hard times and failures.
The problem is not only thinking so highly of ourselves, but also thinking less of others. Don’t think that we are too good to associate with someone. We should lift up those who we deem less than us. The qualities that make a person truly great are not the same qualities that most people base their judgment of others on. Jesus even said that if we want to be great we must be a servant. Arrogance goes against the way Jesus calls us to live. As the one person who had the right to be arrogant, look how Jesus lived His life. All of Humanity was beneath Jesus, yet He lifted up us lowly people to make us great.
We were all taught to not judge a book by it’s cover. The cover is not always an accurate indicator of what’s on the inside. I have met many people who I initially thought were strange, but once I got to know them, I found so much to admire about them. Then, there are people I have met who are successful and talented, but have turned me off through their arrogance and attitude.
We have to decide if we would rather be known as great in this life or the next. We can learn a lot about being great in Heaven, by studying the lives of the saints. The saints were just regular people who had faults like we all do, but were also people who sacrificed themselves in many different ways for others and/or for God. The saints were people who practiced humility and didn’t put themselves first. St. Maximilian Kolbe was a good example of being humble when he gave his life to allow another prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp to live. Greatness in this life will eventually fade, but when we put others first, we will discover a greatness that will last forever.
