The Winsomeness of Humility

About two weeks ago I received an email from Growing Leaders that talked about one quality that Boomers and Millennials must develop. This blog post is not about either Millennials or Boomers or the differences between the two.

( ( However, if you haven’t seen You’ve Gotta Love Millenials you must take three minutes to watch it. ) )

Back to the original topic . . .

In the article this one phrase kind of jumped out at me: Attitudes speak louder than words. . . don’t underestimate the winsomeness of humility.

Winsomeness is defined as sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging.

There is something charming, winning and engaging about a person who demonstrates humility.

We see a lot of acts that don’t demonstrate humility: athletes that draw attention to themselves after making a big play, artists who strive to keep the spotlight on themselves, public figures who make it a habit of keeping their faces on camera. We can probably all think of a time when we were turned off by arrogant behavior – a lack of humility.

We might also be able to bring to mind a time when we were attracted to humility. Someone did something solely for the benefit of someone else and stayed out of the limelight. It could be as simple as paying for meal of the person behind you in the drive-thru line or leaving a circle of friends at lunch time to sit with someone who was eating alone.

There is something attractive, beautiful, even winsome about humility.

In his book Chase the Lion Mark Batterson shares this story of Booker T. Washington.

Washington was in Iowa and had spent the day speaking to packed rooms at four different gatherings. He was the keynote speaker, the center of attention, the one everyone in town came to see.

While in the hotel lobby where he was staying, Washington was mistaken for one of the hotel staff. A woman asked him for a glass of water. His response: he got her a drink and then asked, “Is there anything else I can get for you?”

What a great example of the winsomeness of humility.

I don’t know if the woman in the hotel lobby that day was ever told who it was that got her that glass of water. But it seems that Booker T. Washington didn’t care.

In the Growing Leaders article, this advice was given: Ask questions. Listen well. Develop a hungry mind. Talk about others more than yourself. Seek out good books and mentors. Show me you’re good, don’t tell me.

Imagine how our schools, churches and workplaces would change if we all followed that advice and sought to demonstrate humility.

Legend by Eric Blehm

When I first heard about Fearless, I was not familiar with Eric Blehm. The back story of the book captured my attention enough that I wanted to read it. When Legend became available, I knew I wanted to check it out.

Before reading Legend, I have to admit I didn’t know a lot about the conflict in Vietnam. I knew some of the history behind it and that having American soldiers fighting in Vietnam was not supported by a lot of folks back at home. My dad, nephew and son had a chance to visit Southeast Asia a few years ago and they shared a little bit about their time there and what they observed. By and large, I only knew the basics about our involvement there. This book was in the very least an education of what many of our soldiers experienced while serving in this conflict.

Legend is the powerful story of Roy Benavidez and his heroic efforts to save fellow soldiers caught in a very dangerous situation. The explanation of his actions kept me engaged in the chapters that unfolded his desire to serve in the US military, the injuries he overcame in one tour of duty and his desire to participate in another tour. It was on this second tour where his heroism was on full display.

One thing that struck me as I was reading about Roy’s heroic actions was that they occurred the year I was born. My birthday fell literally days before the events in this book unfolded. I kept thinking that while I was just beginning my life in a town in Indiana, there were men laying down their lives to promote freedom halfway around the world.

A challenge in reading this book was all the military language that was used. There were names and nicknames and abbreviations for all types of things. While the author explained what a slick was and what SOG stood for, it was easy for me to get lost in the code names. Still, the book portrayed a very vivid picture of what took place in Vietnam.

As with most readers who would pick up this book, I tried to think how I would respond in a similar situation. Would I jump out of a helicopter in enemy territory to try to rescue my fellow soldiers or would I keep my head down and simply try to stay alive long enough to make it home from my tour? Roy’s actions show a man who put others before himself and literally put himself in harm’s way to try to get others to safety.

Legend gave me a renewed appreciation for men like Roy who serve selflessly and count it an honor to do so. What came out through the pages of his book was not just his heroism, but his humility. It’s a good story many would benefit from hearing.

In spite of, not because of

We had a good worship service on Sunday. Apart from recurring problems with the monitor the praise team uses (the praise team was going without words for most songs!), it was a good service.

I have been leading worship on a regular basis for about three months and, of course, some services are “better” than others. This past Sunday was great – not because the vocalists were better or the musicians were perfect – but simply because we had the opportunity to see people in worship.

Part of the song set was the hymn “How Great Thou Art” followed by Chris Tomlin’s “How Great is our God.” Those songs flow together so well, both because they are in the same key and the themes are so similar. It just makes for a great song set and our people are familiar with those songs.

When we moved into “How Great is our God” several in our congregation stood on their own in worship. In that moment, it wasn’t about the people around them or where they were…it was simply a moment of worship. It was humbling to stand on the platform and be able to see it and realize it had nothing to do with me or the others on the stage. We started the song, but it wasn’t because of us. Rather, even in spite of us, our congregation was engaged in worship and proclaimed how great God is.

For me, it was a sacred moment. To see people worship God. To be in a place where I was moved to worship because of their worship and because of the greatness of God. I had just a small taste of what Isaiah experienced in Isaiah 6. Even at a glimpse of His power and presence, I knew I was so unworthy. Yet, in spite of me, not because of me, we were able to worship. I need to remember that moment, to remember who I am and be reminded again of who He is. “Name above all names & worthy of all praise.”