Is it possible to have humility in some ways and not in others?

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I think I have humility in some areas such as I am receptive and open to receiving correction and patiently listen to all people’s views with an open mind instead of just arrogantly believing that mine is the right view.
I believe that no one is higher than another and I treat all people the same regardless of occupation and don’t view (for example) doctors as being higher/better than factory worker etc…

On the other hand,I find it quite hard to say sorry if say something that negatively affects someone and also I am quite self sufficient and not very reliant on God if all is “going well”.
Can people be humble in some ways but not others or is this a contradiction?
 
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The goal think is to practice humility daily. Through practicing this virtue, even in small things, you will grow in it. Do this long enough and it will become a way of life. Once this becomes second nature, you will have certainly attained what has been called superior humility. No doubt others will start to notice this and remark that you are perhaps the most humble person they’ve ever met, saintlike really. Of course, having superior humility, you will indeed deny such greatness while continuing to humbly share the great gift of you with the world.
 
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"Rozellelily said:
Can people be humble in some ways but not others or is this a contradiction?
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I would think it is a contradiction. There is no exception in humility. There is such thing as a false humility, which is not humility at all.

Humility is to think that there are better people than us and that we are not always self-sufficient.

It is only in humility that we are able to approach God and obey Him, not in any other ways.
 
it is probably normal to be inconsistent in this virtue. It would be abnormal and nearly impossible to be equally humble in all situations. The contradiction comes when we start to get proud about being humble, so we defeat ourselves. “I’m so proud of being humble.” Huh?

Sometimes we have to be assertive, which is not inconsistent with humility, by the way. People around us probably don’t understand what humility looks like and also interpret it as something else, like weakness.

Perhaps the main focus should always be humble towards God as much as possible, reminding ourselves that we are his created children. Towards people we do the best we can, if they let us.
 
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Reuben_J said:
Humility is to think that there are better people than us…"
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I thought we were meant to think that all people were created equal by God and that no one is better than another?
Maybe not equal in talents,but equal in how would should view and treat them.

I though it was the “world”/worldliness that declared some people as being higher or lower (usually based off occupation,looks or wealth status or lack if).
 
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Periodically I pray the Litany of Humility. As it takes me through different ways of being humble I see some that I have mastered with the help of God and others that I struggle with (also with the help of God!).
 
If I am a strong man physically I would thank my genes if you will but it would not be something I could congratulate myself on. Likewise if I develop and gain strength through weights the development of my muscle would not be of my doing but my physiology for which I can take no credit.

Perhaps an aid to humility might be found through the admission that we are designed by God and so our talents and abilities are God given. ‘I’ am the obstacle to humility. The tool can’t help but be itself by design and can not take credit for it or anything it does perhaps.
Luke 17:33 “whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

I think we can all be humble on occasion, it’s a question of degree not lack of humility I think. I’ve seen very strong and possibly arrogant men become very humble whilst waiting for their pay.
 
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Rozellelily said:
I think I have humility in some areas such as I am receptive and open to receiving correction and patiently listen to all people’s views with an open mind instead of just arrogantly believing that mine is the right view
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someone who is perfectly humble does not see himself as someone humble, but he sees himself as someone vile.
 
Reuben_J said:
Humility is to think that there are better people than us and that we are not always self-sufficient.
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it’s not enough to think that it’s just certain who are better than us. But we have to be convinced that everyone is better than us. This is true when we consider in our neighbor what comes from God, and when we consider from our side, what is peculiar to ourselves.
 
Is it necessary to compare ourselves with others at all? Isn’t enough to know that we are but dust and ashes without the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit does not belong to us?
 
To know that one is “ash” is good, but it is not enough for a real awareness of our real misery. In fact, knowing that one would be worse than a serial killer, or worse than a Hitler if God did not support us by force with particular graces, allows us to better measure our abjection.
 
I take your point.
If we are made in the image and likeness of God who is both Spirit and physical and does not create anything vile in essence then how can we be vile? And doesn’t feeding the ‘i’ with judgement about its worthiness cause us to be less than suitable vessels for the Holy Spirit?
 
after the sin of Adam, we have lost the resemblance we had with God, we are an image that no longer resembles the original, we have become vile
 
Why vile?
I thought most people don’t see themselves as vile unless they have self worth issues.
Even people who have been given awards for bravery for rescuing others and who people think are very humble,they might be embarrassed to receive the award but they don’t refer to themselves as vile.
That seems a bit unhealthy?
 
This seems unrealistic and unhealthy tbh.
Most people don’t walk around thinking they’d be worse than hitler if not for Gods grace.

God may have created the brain,but humans cooperate with that creation by choosing to do good or bad.
Hitler chose to do evil.
Serial killers are even scarier to think of,but unlike Hitler and his men,they probably have something wrong in their brains to begin with (according to Neuroscience).
 
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I think thats like saying can someone be tolerant in some ways but not in others.
 
Jesus defines humility as being obedient to “all that he has commanded.” It’s impossible to talk about humility abstractly, but only in real world examples where we are obeying God’s laws. If you are disobeying God’s law, then you are not being humble.
 
Rozellelily said:
God may have created the brain,but humans cooperate with that creation by choosing to do good or bad.
Hitler chose to do evil.
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humans has an imperfect freedom and that is why he sometimes sin. The human must always have the humility to recognize that, if he is no worse than any other person, it is because of the privileges that God has given him, and that God has not given to that person.
Human is certainly free, but he is sinful, and imperfect. This means that, deprived of God’s help, despite his freedom and in certain circumstances, he will commit the most unimaginable crimes.
In fact, deprived of an effective help from God, the man can always do good, but to do this good will be so difficult for him that, in a certain way, he will alway choose to do evil.
 
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