← The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
What True Humility Really Looks Like
00:07:51
What does true humility really look like? Some may believe that a humble person must diminish themselves, becoming small or insignificant. But is that truly the essence of humility? Fr. Mike Schmitz offers a deeper perspective on what it means to be truly humble. He explains that humility actually requires both confidence and honesty. When we speak the truth and live authentically in that truth, we embody the heart of true humility.
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:00]
A
Is it possible to be both humble and confident at the same time? Is it? I don't know. Just kidding. Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension presents. We fall into this trap of not understanding either of those words. Like we can think, like humble and confident. You can never be both humble and confident because we don't understand what humility is. And I don't know if we really understand even what confidence is. So let's break it down. I think oftentimes we think, and maybe I've said this before, I think that we think that humility is thinking less of yourself. Right. I'm sure you've heard The Rick Warren C.S. lewis quote, humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less. Which I think is really, really great because it clarifies a couple things. The humble person is not the aw, shucks, I'm no good. The humble person is not the one who shrinks. Again. Sometimes we have this picture in our minds that the more humble you are, the more you shrink back from doing anything. The more you shrink back from greatness. The more you shrink back from being bold, the more you shrink back from speaking up, the more humble you are, the smaller you are. I think sometimes we fall into that trap because it's not true that the humble you are, the smaller you are. That a person can actually take the reins. The person can actually take the wheel. The person actually can lead in a powerful and bold and confident way while being humble, just like a person can shrink while being proud. So what is true humility? I would say true humility is nothing more and nothing less than simply being willing to tell the truth and to live in that truth. I'll say it like the willingness to tell the truth and the confidence to live in that truth. So the truly humble person would be able to say, I'm really good at X and also I'm not good at Y. Or the truly humble person would be able to say, someone says, hey, that was a really good job. They'd be able to say, yeah, it was. It was. Good job. Thank you very much. I can receive that compliment. Truly humble person can receive a compliment and the truly humble person can receive a criticism. And it's true. You can accept the criticism with confidence and humility and live in that truth. If it's not true. This is the crazy thing. If the compliment is not true or the criticism is not true, then the truly humble person isn't bothered either because they know the truth and they have the confidence to live in the truth. That's one of the reasons why every one of us can choose to be a humble person simply by choosing to acknowledge the truth and to be comfortable and at peace and confident in that truth. In fact, confidence is not opposed to humility. I would say this, I would say confidence is an essential part of humility. Leaving the word confidence, it means, it comes from two words, right? Confide, which means with faith. So to live with confidence and to live confidently is to live with faith. I would say it like this, is to live in trust. You know, people talk about like, you know, we just really need to build people's self confidence. You need to build up people's self esteem. And I would say, well, yes, okay, that's wonderful. But how does confidence grow? I would maintain that confidence primarily comes from competence, that the more competent you are, the more confident you are. So think about, you're driving your car by yourself now. The more competent you are at driving your car, the more competent you are about driving your car. If you had to get a flat tire, but you're like, I don't know how to change a tire, I don't know how to fix a flat tire, so I'm not competent, therefore I'm not confident. But if you do know, you know, actually, you know cars really well and your car breaks down, you're probably pretty confident that you can fix it. Why? Because you have the competence to be able to fix your car. So, so critically, competence leads to confidence, which is one of the reasons why the pursuit of excellence in our, in our lives. The more excellent you become, the more confident you ought to be. We've seen it a thousand times, right? Someone is good at one thing, and so they claim to or think of themselves as an expert in everything. I mean, this happens all of the time, maybe even with people on YouTube. But if someone's good at one thing, sometimes they have this distorted confidence, this distorted sense of themselves that they must be automatically good at everything. If they have a really good take on X, they must have a great take on A through the other letters. But the truly humble person would know, oh, I have competence in changing a tire, therefore I'm confident when it comes to changing a tire. I don't have as much competence in, I don't know, fly fishing, for example, therefore I'm not confident about that. But the more a person is willing to acknowledge the truth and walk in that truth, the more confident they would be because they know the truth. I'm going into a situation where I am Competent, therefore, into a situation where I'm confident. But if I also know I'm going into a situation where I'm not competent, I have the humility, again, acknowledging the truth, that here's a situation where I'm going to need some help. Therefore I have the boldness, the courage, the forthrightness, the fortitude to be able to ask for help. Because in this case, I'm not competent, therefore I'm not confident I can do it on my own, but I'm also humble so I can ask someone for help. Does that make sense? These two things, these humility and confidence, they really do go together. But above everything else, we know this. We know that at the end of the day, we know that we're not enough. That's what humility will remind us of. Because in humility, remember, he's living the truth. So I know, yeah, these are all the things that I'm strong at. But humility also would also say, and here's my limitations, which is one of the most incredible reasons why a Christian must be the most humble and the most confidence person you've ever met, that the Christian, the one who's been adopted by the Father as a beloved daughter or beloved Son, as one who's been washed in the blood of the Lamb, as one who's been claimed by Christ, should be simultaneously the most humble and the most confident person you've ever met. Why? Because I know the truth. The truth is God has made me for greatness. He's made me in his image. And I also know the truth that I'm broken. I know the truth that here's God who's redeemed me by his grace and by his love. And I also know the truth that I often turn away from his grace and his love, this willingness to live in the truth and to walk in the truth and to know that even at my lowest, he still loves me. For you to realize this, that even at your worst, he still wants you, is so critical because then I can say, I'm telling the truth. I don't deserve to be loved, but I am loved. So humility, I'm telling the truth. I don't deserve to be loved, but I am loved. Confidence. There's something so powerful about a Christian who walks this way. They're not self deceived, they're not overly puffed up by compliments and they're not deflated by insults, but they have the humility of walking in the truth and the confidence of being able to bring that truth out into their relationships and out into the world. Does that make sense? I don't know. I think it does. Anyway, Smerals here to essentially presents My name's Father Mike. God bless. I have this defying gravity in my head. I'm like, I don't really like this idea of trying to make these villains overly sympathetic and saying, well, the real reason why they're so bad is because they're not actually bad. Like Maleficent. Like, if you only understood her. Like, well, yeah, everyone's got a backstory, but you don't have to kill people.