One part of the Christian Bible - I have no idea
what the citation is except that I think it’s a parable of Jesus -
talks about a group of dinner guests that arrive at their host’s
house. One in particular sits down at the head of the table and
looks out at all the guests. Then the host approaches him and asks
if he might sit somewhere else so that another person can sit at the
head of the table. The man gets up, and because all the other places
are taken, must sit at the foot of the table and find that no one
even acknowledges him.
Another man goes to a dinner party and sits down
immediately at the foot of the table. The host, seeing the man take
the worst seat first, approaches him and says, “No, please, don’t
sit there, we have a better seat for you!” So he stands up and
follows the host where the he asks his guest to sit at the head of
the table where he is honored by all the other guests.
The point of this story is that he who humbles
himself shall be exalted and he who exalts himself shall be humbled.
Looking at this story in a modern context, most
of the time the host of a dinner party does not care where people
sit, and no seat is better than any other. The point of the story is
very clear though. Those who try to make themselves seem greater
than everyone else are frequently frustrated, mainly because their
peers have a great desire to frustrate their efforts to be greater.
After all, who wants to be put down by some prima donna that thinks
he’s better than everyone else.
Though I have found in my own experience in the
workplace, the more meek and humble I am, the greater the respect
that I receive. The less I worry about perceived slights against me,
the less these perceived slights seem to occur.
If I have an opinion about something, I’m happy
to share it with people, but I tend to say, “In my humble opinion”
instead of saying, “You really should do this or that. It’s the ONLY
thing to do.”
I have believed for several years that
Christianity did not have much to teach, and to be honest, I don’t
believe Christianity can claim to be the first or only belief system
that teaches humility. But every now and then I find that this
twisted religion has a few gems of wisdom to share. The need of
humility to gain prominence and respect in the world is one of them.
The story above is one of my favorites, and I
really treasure it a lot. I frequently fault Christians with not
practicing the most important and logical aspects of their own
religion, and this is one of them.