Humility

A farmer complained that his prosperous neighbor “felt too good” for him, yet the real issue was not the neighbor’s pride but his own lack of humility. Though raised in a wealthy family, the farmer had wasted forty years repeating the same mistakes, refusing correction, and ending life with nothing, while the neighbor once poor had worked hard, sacrificed, built a thriving farm, educated his children, and lived responsibly. The complaining farmer hid behind the slogan, “Every man is as good as the next,” but what he really meant was that he would not learn from anyone. Solomon teaches that “before honour is humility” (Prov. 15:33; 18:12); no one can grow while always justifying himself. Only when a man, like Bernard Baruch, stops blaming others and asks, “Where was I wrong, and how can I correct it?” does progress begin. We all need more humility, for some people are wiser, more disciplined, and more diligent than we are and the wise learn from them.