Serve voluntarily, eagerly

While researching today’s passage on humility, I came across a “column” by a self-described “Elderly church-lady with a Kleenex up one sleeve & occasionally an Ace up the other.” Let’s take a look:

Plain Talk from the Great Plains, By Enid “Ma” D’Stee

Column: The One Thing We Don’t Lack is Shortages

Every day’s newspaper brings news of another shortage that will impact our daily routines, ranging from eggs to coffee to Sriracha hot sauce.  However, as I review today’s social environment, I would suggest the most perilous shortage we face is actually humility.

Coin Shortage could endanger Common Cents – see page 4

During a quick review of our posts & commentaries, we quickly realize that we are inundated with all sorts of blustering, bragging, & boasting.  We seem to be living in the world of the country singer, Mac Davis, who teasingly sang, “Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble, when you are perfect in every way. I can’t wait to look in the mirror, cause I get better looking each day.” (My Grandson thinks I’m so hip having all these vintage vinyl LPs, when in reality I just hadn’t got around to throwing them out.)

Helium Shortage Could Limit Inflation – see page 3

An example of blustering is when seemingly every quarterback drafted into the NFL is never considered as the next “Alex Smith,” who had a very accomplished career in the NFL, but rather must be declared as the “next Mahomes.” Or we have the humble-bragger: the young person who is “victimized” by being accepted to so many choice colleges that they couldn’t possibly make up their mind. Or we have the boaster whose every other Facebook post displays some fabulous meal, but never shows the Big Mac wrappers cluttering the floor of their car.

Sadly, this lack of humility can have a variety of negative impacts. Our compassion & empathy for others can be greatly reduced, since we can be tempted to revel in their shortfalls or jealously despise their successes. Our respect for others & their opinions is reduced, since our own views are obviously much more sophisticated & well thought-out. And even our eagerness to volunteer & give of our time becomes limited, since our world-view becomes very self-involved & self-centric.

Germany’s Sausage Shortage: “It’s the wurst I’ve ever seen.” see page 8

Now, to be fair, humility can also be in short supply because we don’t really understand what it means to be humble. We think that modesty requires us to be meek or timid, to be a pushover, or to have low self-esteem. 

Disposable Diaper Shortage will reach new bottoms in 2023 – see page 5

However, I would submit that being humble is actually an incredible asset that we should cultivate:

• Humility helps us make better decisions. A humble person seeks input from a wide variety of sources, rather than relying solely on their own opinions.
• Humility encourages active listening & curiosity.
• Humble people don’t view life as a “zero-sum” game, where anyone’s success must come at the expense of someone else. Rather, humble people operate with an “abundant mentality,” which encourages teamwork & a willingness to share their talents & gifts via volunteering.
• A humble person’s self-worth comes from God, not some title or grade or trophy.
• Humble people are quite comfortable accepting responsibility for mistakes & errors. They aren’t afraid to admit they aren’t perfect & don’t demand perfection from others. (Interestingly, surveys show folks love to work with humble leaders.)
• Finally, humble people are filled with gratitude. Their emails & conversations are sprinkled with phrases of appreciation & thanksgiving.

Maybe we should all take Mac Davis’ light-hearted song to heart & strive to live out the song’s conclusion: “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, but I’m doing the best that I can.”

PS: Just for the record, I didn’t write the Twitter/X headline that promoted this column: “Click here to read the best newspaper column on humility, ever!” (Sigh.) – “Ma” D’Stee