The Drosandus Letter - IV

IV

Brother Raikello,

Your seemingly panicked manner of inscription about the Child's behavior seem to indicate that it is high time for me to write on the elusive – but all too important – subject of Humility.  It is rather unseemly for us angelic beings to have to speak about the subject that obviously defines the whole character of The Almighty.  We can blame our ignorance partially on Our Dead Brothers' befuddlement of language and partially on our failure to effectively practice it.  This is a strange conundrum, indeed; but fear not, and hopefully I might be able to shed some light on the subject.

I believe that it would be beneficial to first put to bed the many myths about Humility.  Humility does not mean Humiliation (even though they do share the same root word).  Being humble – contrary to popular belief – does not mean being a doormat.  Those who wish to be humble should not think that they should allow others to take advantage of them, or that they should not go against the tide and stand up for themselves, or that they should become "mental marionettes" that blindly believe at face value any excess of incompatible ideas that anybody brings to them.  The Savior, during His Earthly Sojourn, never subjected Himself to deception nor did He avoid going against the tide (and He commanded His followers to ward off such attitudes in themselves as well).  And yet, He is recognized the world over as a prime definition of Humility.

Looking over the Savior's earthly life, I define Humility as the noble act of "holding back your power for the well-being of others".  A true story as an illustration seems in order.  A few decades ago amongst the Americans, a group of young men were known to have gone onto a bus and began to harass a seemingly innocent man sitting in the back in order to earn his ire.  The man did not respond, so the young men began to harass him with more fervor.  This also proved to no avail, and eventually, the man stood to leave.  It was then that the young ones realized that this man was larger than they had assumed from his seated position.  Before he left on his way, the man fished a business card out of his pocket and handed it to the boys.  Upon reading the card, the young men were relieved that the card was all they received from the man.  The card read "Joe Lewis: Professional Boxer".  A fine example of holding back power for the well-being of others.

This power can mean anything that gives one any sort of influence over others (every human has such power of one type or another.  It is written that the Spirit of Power is a common gift given to all by The Almighty).  The power in and of itself is a good thing.  However, like so many things, it can be corrupted and misused.  That is what Pride aims to do, but Humility makes that power even more useful and more effective; whereas Pride causes that power not only to become harmful, but even to lose its effect and usefulness.  Every tyrant, dictator, and worldly conqueror in earthly history lost their power rather suddenly, and by the most degrading methods possible.  However, those who wielded their power with a sense of Humility saw their power and influence increase on a seemingly exponential scale.

There still remains the task of further defining Humility.  One truth that might make Humility more attractive to the Child is bringing this to their mind.  Humility, more often than not, is simply the act of common sense.  Knowledge of Truth can be very humbling.  Many of those who come to full realization of It realize their own dependence and weakness as well.  The Truth is that no matter how much the humans learn, how long they live, or how much they grow or improve (either on an individual or total scale), what they do not know and what they cannot do will always greatly outweigh what they do know and what they can do.  This does not mean that the Truth can never be known.  To make such a statement would be self-defeating.  What it does mean is that even experts in specific topics or practices still have incentive to exercise Humility, for expertise in one area does not give expertise in another area.

Simple knowledge of the nature of Truth (that which is known to all humans) gives plenty of good reason for Humility.  Realizing that Truth gives no heed to human opinion and that mere belief does not alter the real state of affairs brings Humility to the forefront.  Remind the Child that human life is one of dependence and service.  Never has anyone done anything without any aid from an outside source.  Everything from eating, to learning, to even birth and living itself cannot be accomplished by only one individual.  Remind him of the saying, "No one is an island".  Our Dead Brothers would like to convince people that they could be self-existent and be their own gods, just as they have ever since that unfortunate turn of events at the Garden.  And the result is that humanity is now in constant competition against one another, using their power against others (as Pride would have it) instead of for others (as Humility commands it).

If the Child is who I take him to be, it would most behoove you to keep in his mind the fact that Humility is, among other things, the practice of common sense.  Pride, however, often tends to steal away common sense.  This is the main reason why The Almighty so vigorously encourages the humans to be humble.  It is not for His own self image (as if The Almighty were prideful).  The Almighty made it clear ever since the Beginning that He wishes desperately for a genuine relationship with all humanity.  He wants for them to know Him on a personal level, and this is not possible so long as the humans are swollen with Pride.  Pride causes them to think that everything they come across is subject to them; that all Truth and Reality answers and adapts to their whims and views.  It persuades them to look down on everything.  As long as they are looking down, they cannot see the One Who is above them.

Your Brother in Love and Truth,
Drosandus