Humility Forgotten

There are some lessons in life that we as human beings find difficult to learn, and even more challenging to hold onto.  If there were a list of them floating around humility would be somewhere near the top.  Doesn't it appear as if society has been afflicted with a sense of self entitlement and self righteousness?  The population as a whole has engaged in this attitude that they should get everything they want just because they want it; they should be able to say whatever they want just because they can.  As Americans we are the worst when it comes to such a self fulfilling mentality.  Why can't we just work hard and be happy with what we get?   Whether we get a little, or a lot, we should accept everything with a grateful and respectful attitude.  Teenagers and those coming out of High School are the worst individuals who have a lack of humility.  They were often not disciplined by their parents because the parents would rather keep the peace by acting as a "best friend."  As a result the younger generations are receiving everything by just asking or acting out if they don't get their way, which also provides the same result.  Whatever happened to corporal punishment and basic parenting skills? 

Humility was a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and yet I am eternally grateful for God using the Marine Corps to show me that lesson.  Does the military always have the same affect on everybody, NO!  I have observed my fair share of men and women coming out of the military and feeling as if the world owed them everything just because they served.  That road is for another discussion topic though.  My experience started in Marine Corps boot camp at MCRD San Diego.  Through all the weeks of relentless yelling, physical punishment, and training, one event really showed me the meaning of humility.  Just after our initial drill competition against the other platoons in our company, we found out the platoon as a whole had scored second place.  Getting this score out of six other platoons was pretty respectable, especially if you saw how horrible we were when we first marched together.  Our drill instructors (DI's) came into our squad bay late in the morning after we had learned of our ranking and unleashed hell, well, what we thought hell would have been like.  If you weren't up in the front getting thrashed (a workout that only ends when the DI's are tired), you were probably in the back getting your footlocker dumped and seeing how many recruits can fit into a bathroom stall at one time.  At one point the DI's let our rival platoon run in our squad bay while we were at attention.  They flung our belongings all over, locked all of our combination locks together, and emptied out our supply closet by spilling every cleaning solution known to man all over us.  Our DI's were even sending us to other squad bays so we could be thrashed by their DI's!  The chaos and confusion ended at 9pm or so that night.  What did I learn from this moment in time?  We had done very well that day at drill (we found out later), but it wasn't about how well we did.  They wanted us to learn two things from that day's events:
1. Be humble, regardless of what you experience in life.  Just because you worked hard does not mean there is some pay out at the end. 
2. Respect those that preside over you.   

So.........nice story, but what does all of it mean?  If you don't respect those that preside over you, you cannot truly respect anyone or anything around you.  This is the same with God.  1 Peter talks about humility saying:
1 Peter 5
 ⁵ In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
   “God opposes the proud
   but shows favor to the humble.”
 ⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Remember, the most important lessons in life are sometimes the hardest to swallow when they arrive on your front door step.  Work hard, expect nothing in return, and be grateful in life no matter what path God takes you down!  One last set of verses before I end this.

Luke 18

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 ⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
   ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
   ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”