Screwtape on Humility

I love the following quotes on humility from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I have read this book numerous times since becoming a Christian almost 15 years ago, and this section on true humility has always stood out in my mind. I have referenced it many times through the years, often as a reminder to myself when faced with the temptation to pride.

Remember that in this book, the demon Screwtape is penning a letter to his tempter-in-training Wormwood, so he refers to God as “the Enemy”:

  

The Enemy wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another.

The Enemy wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbour’s talents…

…Man is not usually called upon to have an opinion of his own talents at all, since he can very well go on improving them to the best of his ability without deciding on his own precise niche in the temple of Fame.

[There is a doctrine which all Christians] profess but find it difficult to bring home to their feelings- the doctrine that they did not create themselves, that their talents were given them, and that they might as well be proud of the color of their hair.

 

What brought this to my mind today was the Game 5 loss of my hometown Oklahoma City Thunder to the Memphis Grizzlies, ending their season in the second round of the NBA playoffs. I enjoy watching the Thunder, and love to see them win, but humility requires me to be happy for Memphis and their success in the same way that I do for my own team when they succeed. 

Amazingly, the third paragraph above reminds me a lot of what I have seen and heard from Thunder superstar Kevin Durant. Although he has already no doubt carved out a niche in the NBA “temple of Fame”, Durant often deflects praise and the chance to boast by saying that he just wants to “keep getting better”. 

That attitude is rare in sports. It would be nice to see more true humility, both from fans and the players. Its just a game. If we cannot rejoice in the talents and victories of our opponents as if they were our own, then maybe we’ve made the whole thing into an idol, a chance to boast in our team or favorite player’s “niche in the temple of Fame”?