Humility and the Humility Revolution of Jesus

John Dickson, in his new book Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership, defines humility like this:

Humility is the noble choice to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself.

Or it is a “willingness to hold power in service of others.”

How would you define humility? Where do you find yourself in need of it most?

For Dickson, a pastor and professor in Australia, humility involves dignity (one’s status), a willingness/choice, and it is social (not self-deprecation, etc, which is modesty), that is, is redirects power for others.

John applies this to leadership four tools: ability, authority, persuasion and example.

This book is loaded with illustrations, connected both to biblical and ancient classical history, and yet keeps the line straight enough not to lose us in historical issues that no longer matter. But this is not your typical pragmatic practical book; it’s history put to good use. For  instance, humility in the biblical sense was set over against philotimia — the love of honor.

Great example: Matt 23. Jesus criticized the leaders for loving seats of honor. (That’s philotimia.) Humility is the opposite: it means not to ask for your title to be used in order to help others. The cruciform life of Jesus and his framing of ethics in a cruciform manner shifted the ancient culture from prizing philotimia to prizing humility. Jesus created what John calls a humility revolution.

And it works, too! Humility generates abilities; humble character is more persuasive; humility inspires others; humility is better than tolerance and creates harmony between people; and you can’t write a book about humility without having some “steps” to get it:

1. We are shaped by what we love.
2. Reflect on the lives of humble.
3. Conduct thought experiments to enhance humility.
4. Act humbly.
5. Invite criticism.
6. Forget about being humble.