Humility – Recognition of our weakness

 “We see through a glass darkly.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

This darkness surrounding the sphere of our knowledge grows because we simply don’t know what we don’t know. We can’t even formulate certain questions without a base of understanding that we have not yet achieved. Humility not only requires that we acknowledge that we have much yet to learn, but also that we recognize that even our circle of knowledge is at times unclear and uncertain.

Why are the fringes of our understanding so vague and ambiguous? I believe it is a natural consequence of our mortal condition. Context is essential to learning and understanding. And true, unambiguous context is difficult if not impossible to obtain. Full context requires not just a clear vision of the present, but also of the past and of an uncertain and unknown future. To complicate the ambiguity, each person holds a unique perspective of not only the past, but also of the present moment. That perspective is influenced by out physical senses as well as our life experiences. We all hold perception biases influenced by our language, education, upbringing and culture. We all view the world through a lens shaped by the accumulation of our perceived life experiences.

Humility requires us to acknowledge that our perception of reality is imperfect at best and often significantly skewed. Paul, the new testament apostle wrote: “we see through a glass darkly”. That scriptural quote has greatly influenced my thinking in recent years. To me, this implies that an inherit part of the human condition is that the lens through which we view the world, even our own lives, is imperfect, out of focus, and in continual need to be adjusted.

For me, humility requires that I acknowledge that while I hold an incomplete and imperfect knowledge of things as they are, as they were and as they are to come, there is One who knows the beginning from the end (Abraham 2:3). The knowledge that I have loving Heavenly Parents who can view the end from the beginning through a perfect, unfiltered lens humbles me and motivates me to seek communion with that all-knowing God.

Humility requires that I put my trust in God and His omniscience. Likewise, humility requires that I acknowledge that I receive God’s perfect immortal word through a flawed mortal filter. God’s servants and prophets are also imperfect mortals. While I embrace God’s word received through them, humility requires that I allow them the opportunity to evolve as they adjust and refine their mortal lens. I will acknowledge my own fallibility and I will allow others the same.

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