Positive thinking coaches rarely extol humility as a key to success. They will tell you to pump yourself up and the "universe" will reward you. Nobody wants a sports star with an attitude of humility. You have to act as if you know you will win.
Imagine a politician who was humble, stating that he did not know much about economics, trade, international affairs or energy -- that nobody ever has been nor could any human being ever be really qualified to lead, but that he would seek the best advice from real experts in each field where a decision was to be made.
Imagine on "The Apprentice" telling your potential boss the absolute truth about your abilities, no exaggeration. I don't think that Donald Trump or his equivalent on the British version, Sir Alan Sugar would be impressed.
So, why is humility so important? In Matthew 18:4 Jesus said that whoever is humble like a little child is greatest in God's enterprise, the kingdom of heaven. Why is God so impressed with humility and why are business, entertainment, sports and political leaders so unimpressed with it?
Just as Jesus' disciples were so fundamentally wrong about true greatness, so is our world and so are we. A simple comparison will perhaps provide some answers. This world with its power, position and pride has hurt and destroyed. We do not need more people who walk all over others for gain. What this world needs is more people who will think in a radically different manner.
Humility is merely brutal self-honesty, a square facing of the truth that we really don't have a clue, don't have a hope, and that all our human efforts, political, religious, judicial, educational or business, only lead to failure. It is a simple facing of the reality that only God's way works and no other.
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