A Posture of Humility

When I was in middle school, our poor science teacher had to teach the class about the origins of the universe.  Growing up in the Bible Belt, this was no small task, and there were plenty of students ready to most righteously make a show of how false all of this talk about the creation of planets was, when we know God created everything 6,000 years ago.  Students were ready to get an F on their test for daring to Speak the Truth, and then use that as some mark of pride.  The passion and vitriol was real.  The science teacher ended up in tears multiple days because of how cruel the students were being.

I went home after being caught up in that frenzy one day.  I was worked up and going on and on to my mother about how I was going to be righteous too and stand up for faith!  My mother calmed me down and explained to me that there was a better way.  She said I didn't have to put my faith aside or hide it, but I could express it in a positive way.  Her recommendation was that on the test, rather than give "God" as the answer to all the questions and fail the test, maybe I could write "The book says X, but I believe Y".  I followed her advice and answered all of the questions in that style.  I professed my faith proudly, but I did it humbly.

I remember that discussion.  I remember taking it to heart.  I remember answering the test questions using my mother's suggestion.  I think I remember getting an A on the test.  I don't remember much beyond that, but I do know that it always stuck with me.  My mother's wisdom changed the way I approached these faith conflict issues.  I still often get passionate and forget, but for the most part, my entire view towards faith challenges changed with that event.

At some point nearly 20 years later, I was recalling this conversation with my mother, expressing how much of an impact it had on me.  She told me that after this whole ordeal, my science teacher came to me and asked me to pray for her cat.  Apparently that posture of humility had a significant impact on her.  Note that at no time did I apologize for my faith or give it up, I just professed it in a matter-of-fact context rather than a defensive or aggressive one.

As I grew up, I learned to believe in and accept the scientific research and consensus rather than a particular narrow interpretation of the Bible.  I now believe in what the textbook said about the creation of the universe.  What's interesting to me about this whole matter is that in no way am I embarrassed about that whole event even though I now view matters differently.  The openness in speaking humbly allowed me to learn as well.

Now this is just a single anecdote, and I'm sure many people have stories where their combativeness was rewarded, but I can't help but shake that last part.  I have had many, many arguments with people where I got aggressive or defensive.  Sometimes I was right, but I felt awful about the way the conversation went, as it wasn't fruitful.  Sometimes I was wrong, and I had to eat a massive amount of crow, while navigating whatever destruction I left in my wake.  On the other hand, a posture of humility leaves me with a sense of peace regardless of the opinion I hold, and it appears to be more fruitful, too.