Humility vs fear
Xanthe Galanis

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Humility has been an underlying theme all week. This morning, our former president is on everyone’s mind, here in South Africa and across the world. Many words are used to describe Nelson Mandela, but humility is one that crops up often.

There’s an internet urban legend that claims Mandela quoted the poem “Our Deepest Fear”  by Marianne Williamson in his inaugural address. Whether or not this is true, at least part of it bears repeating because it suggests that false humility hurts us just as much as false pride. The poem goes,

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

We tend to think of humility as self-effacement, self-depreciation, as never blowing our own horn, as always first waiting to be asked before we step forward to offer our gifts. We identify humility with non-assertiveness.

Our gifts and talents are meant to help others, just as their gifts are meant to help us. To hide our light under a bowl serves no one — not others, not ourselves and certainly not God. That’s precisely what Jesus is saying in today’s verse.

Followers of Jesus are “the light of the world!” We were not created in Christ to mumble the message under our breath. Jesus did not go to the cross so we could conceal our transformed lives. Jesus did not burst from the grave so we could live underground. Don’t worry about getting puffed up. When you truly reflect the glory of God, no one will mistake it as coming from you.

Prayer: Father, teach us the difference between false humility and fear. Don’t let us be afraid to let our light shine. Bring praise to yourself by shining through us. In Jesus name. Amen.