Viewing Ourselves: Is it about good? Or is it about you?

I want to give some thoughts to clarify my C.S. Lewis quote-fest in the last 'viewing ourselves' blog.

There really are two aspects of humility. We need to enjoy our talents as much as we enjoy other's talents, AND we need to enjoy other's talents as much as we do our own. Both things need to be true. Although most people need to work on one or the other more, we all need both to balance ourselves.

To look inside ourselves at the talents that we possess and enjoy, and attempt to match that feeling when we see others' abilities; and also to look at others' talents that we appreciate and attempt to match that feeling when we see things that we ourselves do well.

Here is a test of real humility. Suppose you are on a sports team (not that I would know what that's like). You are by far the highest scorer on the team. You enjoy using your abilities to benefit the team, and there is nothing wrong with that. Remember, humility is NOT trying to deny your talents. But one day something changes. A new member joins the team, and that person starts to score more than you. What do you feel? How do you react?

This IS the test of your humility. Are you glad that the team now has ANOTHER good player, or are you jealous that you are no longer THE high scorer.

You see the difference? If your reaction is jealousy then you aren't using your abilities to help the TEAM. You are using them to help YOURSELF. Because if you really cared about the team, you'd be happy that someone else can help the team, whether or not YOU are doing it.

Do you see how that matches with what was said in the last 'viewing ourselves' blog? The key is to be happy good is being done. You're happy that you can do it, AND you're happy that others can do it. Either way is fine.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with being competitive. But one must be careful. Are you being competitive to improve your own talents in order to benefit the team? Or do you just want to be number one? Pushing yourself to beat another person isn't wrong, as long as the focus is improving yourself for others, not improving yourself simply for your own glory.

Fine lines and hard grey areas, but this is where we live. So we must do our best to find balance. The alternative is much worse, and much harder: to allow ourselves to fall into a self-centered solipsistic world is to begin a slow and steady walk away from God.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=40146022&blogId=136487782#ixzz11MKdPFfO