IN his Sermon on the Mount, Christ Jesus places emphasis on the spiritual value of humility when he declares (Matt. 5:5), "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Vastly more than a loving commendation of human modesty, lowliness, and selflessness, this pronouncement points the way to spiritual attainment and the final salvation from sin, disease, and death.
As human thought progresses out of a material sense of existence into the spiritual, humility is absolutely indispensable. Humility serves as an evangelizing impetus, by which the human consciousness is enabled to relinquish a false, material ego, or self, and to acknowledge God as the one divine Ego, from which emanate all true individuality and identity.
As an important virtue, humility is worn with equal grace by the so-called lowly and by those of high esteem. The greater the integrity of the individual, the more outstanding his humility. In its highest sense, humility is that quality which enables us to recognize God as the only Mind, the one governing Principle, and man as having no intelligence, ability, or power underived from Him. This admirable characteristic enables us to know man as inseparably linked to God as His idea or reflection, forever under the direction of Truth and Love.
In the degree that we manifest this elevating quality of thought, we comprehend and lay hold upon our true identity as a child of God. With it, we also gain the understanding of man's spiritual dominion and blessedness, eternally his as God's reflection.
Mary Baker Eddy points out in an article entitled "The Way," which appears in "Miscellaneous Writings," that humility is one of three important factors leading to spiritual growth; the other two are self-knowledge and love. Of humility, she says on page 356: "This virtue triumphs over the flesh; it is the genius of Christian Science. One can never go up, until one has gone down in his own esteem. Humility is lens and prism to the understanding of Mind-healing; it must be had to understand our textbook; it is indispensable to personal growth, and points out the chart of its divine Principle and rule of practice."
One whose consciousness is imbued with true meekness claims no power, ability, wisdom, or goodness of his own. He acknowledges these as God's qualities, irresistibly and eternally reflected by man, God's reflection. Genuine humility, including neither arrogance nor cowardice, is closely allied to moral courage, the fearless champion of justice and righteousness. No mortal failings, such as dishonesty, injustice, or unrighteousness, can remain in the consciousness of one who realizes in increasing measure that true humility, purity, and spiritual conviction are reflected by man.
These ennobling qualities furnish the idealism, ever available to us, which makes spiritual reality practical in daily living. These qualities blot out the baser phases of human thought, its fears, limitations, and self-deprivations, which would retard spiritual progress. The highest mission of spiritual qualities is to reveal God's unlimited and impartial love as His free gift to man.
Christ, Truth, reveals God as infinite, universal Principle, Love, without partiality or animosity. Therefore, a sense of self-debasement, which causes one to believe himself unworthy of God's loving help and so to resign himself to suffering and deprivation, is to be avoided. Self-depreciation is a form of self-punishment, without intelligence or virtue. Scientific analysis exposes this false sense of meekness as personal egotism claiming a separate mortal selfhood, nature, and origin, unrelated to God, Spirit, the one creator. The hidden evil effect of false humility is to prolong the belief in self-conscious matter and thereby to obscure from our view man's eternal sonship with God, Spirit, and his heritage of dominion and freedom.
Christ Jesus taught and demonstrated unerringly the power of God and its availability in human experience. Though the incomparable labors of Jesus for mankind were entirely selfless, they gave no aspects of servility, humiliation, or debasement. Even his so-called enemies stood in awe before the might and grandeur of his meekness and spiritual love.
Mrs. Eddy writes in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 270), "Meekness and charity have divine authority." And farther down on the same page and on page 271 she says, "The life of Christ Jesus was not miraculous, but it was indigenous to his spirituality,—the good soil wherein the seed of Truth springs up and bears much fruit." Increasing spirituality renders human thought more receptive to the ever-present healing Christ.
The healing of blind Bartimaeus is recorded in the tenth chapter of Mark's Gospel. When studying this narrative one day, a Christian Scientist saw in it a clear illustration of the overcoming of self-limitation and timidity, which, in belief, would subject one to indignity, deprivation, and impoverishment.
In the story, the blind man, becoming aware of the nearness of Christ Jesus, suddenly glimpsed the possibility of being freed from his affliction. This fervent hope promptly led him into action, and, disregarding his seeming unworthiness and the intimidation of those about him, he rose from the dust of the highway, cast off his cloak, and approached the Master, asking his mercy.
The narrative continues (verses 51, 52): "Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."
The student had for some time been subjected to an unjustifiable delay in the settling of a righteous claim involving a large amount of money. Though she was in great financial need, a false sense of meekness and timidity, which she had believed to be part of her nature since childhood and which in the past had caused her much mental suffering, had prevented her from asserting her rights. Also she feared that any forceful step on her part might cause her to be misjudged by her friends as being avaricious and unloving.
Inspired by Bartimaeus' humble, yet courageous, plea for his sight and his healing through the power of the Christ, Truth, she was led to pray earnestly and devoutly, "Open my blinded eyes that I may see clearly and claim now my heritage of good which rightfully belongs to man as God's reflection." As in Bartimaeus' case, her eyes too were opened, and she saw clearly that it is one's moral right as well as his duty to insist upon his God-given dominion over every situation or condition confronting him.
The student saw also that one idea of God cannot deprive another of its just claim to goodness, well-being, and abundance, since these are divine bestowals. This spiritual unfoldment replaced with sincere love all resentment and condemnation of the individuals involved. Also she was given the wisdom and moral courage to take proper human footsteps. Almost immediately all apparent obstruction and resistance to a fair settlement were removed, and a completely harmonious and satisfactory solution was obtained.
In deep and devout humility one can finally leave behind all misconceptions regarding his status of manhood and joyously reach out for the true concept revealed in Christian Science. In the growing understanding of God as the only Mind the unintelligent beliefs of minds many dissolve. The perplexities and complexities of a false mortal selfhood clear up in the humble recognition of God as Soul, as the source of all true consciousness. Humility points the way to spiritual attainment.
Our beloved Leader makes this statement in "Miscellaneous Writings" (pp. 1, 2): "Humility is the stepping-stone to a higher recognition of Deity. The mounting sense gathers fresh forms and strange fire from the ashes of dissolving self, and drops the world. Meekness heightens immortal attributes only by removing the dust that dims them. Goodness reveals another scene and another self seemingly rolled up in shades, but brought to light by the evolutions of advancing thought, whereby we discern the power of Truth and Love to heal the sick."
