Humility

I think that humility is the most elusive virtue we Christians are commanded to have. If I know God is giving me faith, I can do things for Him that I might not have done before because of fear or anxiety. If I know God is creating love in my heart for an unlovely person, I can love that person in word and in deed in ways I would not have previously. But if I know that I am more humble than before, oops! It is gone! Somehow, if I am aware of my humility, it ceases to exist, because I get proud that I was so humble.
The reason I have thought about humilty lately is my recent exposure to corporate America. When you interview for a job, humility is not a quality that the business world wants. One interview I had last spring (did not get the job, and I think this is one of the reasons) is a good example of this. The lady interviewing me asked lots of questions which I was probably supposed to answer with great self-confidence, but I just couldn't. My answers were more, "I think I can do the job," "I will try," etc... while she probably wanted, "I am positive that I can do this job and that I am the best choice for this position!" I couldn't say that because I didn't know (or even think) that it was true. I had never done the job before, and she was most likely interviewing several people more qualified to do it than I. So, here's me with somewhat forced humility (and now that I have called it that, I have become proud) which she probably interpreted as weakness, lack of confidence, laziness, or whatever. The employers and HR people I have talked to lately have been pretty much the same (though not all of them). So I try not to say things that would look bad to an employer while at the same time fighting to show Christ-like humility.
Then today I read the chapter in Future Grace by John Piper that is about pride. This is what he says:
"Humility is not a popular human trait in the modern world. It's not touted in the talk shows or celebrated in valedictory speeches or commended in diversity seminars or listed with corporate core values. And if you go to the massive self-help section of your sprawling mall bookstore, you won't find many titles celebrating humility."
Yes, I certainly have noticed this! Here is his reason:
"The basic reason for this is not hard to find: humility can only survive in the presence of God. When God goes, humility goes. In fact you might say that humility follows God like a shadow. We can expect to find humility applauded in our society about as often as we find God applauded. . . When God is neglected, the runner-up god takes his place, namely man. And that, by definition, is the opposite of humility, namely the haughty spirit called pride. So the atmosphere we breath is hostile to humility."
So, this is both encouraging and discouraging to me. It is discouraging to think about the state of every man without Christ. Among the vast store of treasures that he is missing because he is unsaved is the privilege of humility. Since he does not have Christ, he must turn to himself for answers, resources, etc... And when he comes to the end of himself(which may take a while, depending on how rich and smart he is), he has nothing! An unsaved man will never appreciate humility or enjoy the blessing of it.
But, for the Christian, this is a comforting and liberating truth. With Christ comes safety, provision, objective truth, and many other things that we don't have to find in ourselves. We have the blessing of being able to cast our cares on Him, trusting Him for both earthly needs and eternal satisfaction. He is the source of all truth, and the power of Godly living. Looking for those things in ourselves would lead us to despair, but Christ grants us the privilege of coming to Him like a helpless, humble child.

Now if only I could learn how to be humble without knowing it...