Humble Opinions Rarely Are

When someone prefaces their remarks with the words “in my humble opinion” or (if online) IMHO, brace yourself. Because what follows is rarely kind or humble. 

The phrase itself is your first clue. Proclaiming self-humility isn’t what truly humble people do.

In C. S. Lewis’ masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters, Uncle Screwtape (a senior demon) is writing to his understudy, Wormwood, on how to keep us from experiencing God. The topic of humility is addressed in Letter 14: “Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, ‘By jove! I’m being humble,’ and almost immediately pride—pride at his own humility—will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt—and so on, through as many stages as you please.”

True humility requires us to empty ourselves of pride, arrogance, and even the need to be right. A humble person is grateful for God’s forgiveness of their past failures and blind spots. We begin to offer words of kindness and grace more than critique or condemnation. And that opens us to empathy, humility, and a desire for union.

Doing so also gives Uncle Screwtape a severe case of heartburn…which is always a good thing IMHO.

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