Today, I drew up short. A few pages of words written by a scholar in the 17th century shook my shoulders and slapped my cheeks. "Wake up, sleeper. You have work to do."
The text, taken from The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living by Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) was so rich, I thought some of you might be hungry for such words. I would like to share them, rule by rule, over the next few days. If you roll your eyes and think "legalistic," that's fine. After reading this, I definitely won't take it personally :)
Rule 1: Do not think better of yourself because of any outward circumstance that happens to you. Although you may, because of the gifts that have been bestowed upon you, be better at something than someone else (as one horse runs faster than another), know that it is for the benefit of others, not for yourself.
Rule 2: Humility does not consist in criticizing yourself. It consists in a realistic opinion of yourself, namely, that you are an unworthy person.
Rule 3: When you hold this opinion of yourself, be content that others think the same of you. If you realize that you are not wise, do not be angry if someone else should agree! You would be a hypocrite to think lowly of yourself, but then expect others to think highly of you.
Rule 4: Nurture a love to do good things in secret, concealed from the eyes of others. Be content to go without praise. Remember, no one can undervalue you if you know that you are unworthy.
No one can undervalue you if you know that you are unworthy.
Have you read a more counter-cultural statement than that recently?
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