Keys to Success - Humility

Humility is the antithesis of everything that American society seems to reward. We idolize the arrogant…sports heroes who claim to be ‘the greatest’, music stars who require an entourage and movie stars who demand $10 million for a film. Conversely, we tend to look down upon people who are humble. I asked my Sunday School class (Middle School students) what they thought were the worse jobs. All of the answers were jobs where the workers served others. For the rest of this article, we are going to examine humility and try to determine if we’ve got our wires crossed on this concept.

Martial arts are no different from any other sport. You learn them from other people. You can’t learn Karate from a book. I was fortunate enough to find a skilled expert who loved his martial art and was willing to share his knowledge with me. When I am sharing information with you, I am simply passing information onto you that I received from someone else. There is no reason why I should feel superior to any other martial artist. No matter what your rank is, I was once at the same point you are. In fact, almost all of you have attained your rank at a younger age than I did. You also need to realize that no matter what you accomplish in the martial arts, there is still more to learn. You can’t possibly learn it all in a lifetime.

One of the most feared and respected warriors in history was the Samurai. These men dedicated their entire lives to martial arts study and they were highly skilled. They were members of the elite class in feudal Japan, but they were still humble. Most people are surprised to know that the word Samurai literally means “one who serves”. Their entire existence was based on service to their master. Serving a master was so important that if they lost their master, they ceased to be Samurai. Instead, they were known as ronin and their position in society was lowered.

What does the Bible say about humility? In the 10^{th chapter of Mark, Jesus called the disciples together and said “As you know, the kings and great men of the earth lord it over the people; but among you it is different. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (TLB). Not only from this passage, but also from the entire ministry of Jesus, we see the emphasis on service to others. Unlike the religious leaders of his day, he associated with people that were rejected by society. From the time he was wrapped and placed in a manger right after his birth to his humiliating death on the cross, we see a man willing to humble himself.}

Let’s imagine a situation where you are an expert in your field and have several students who were learning from you. If you had one last meeting with them, what would you do? Maybe you would celebrate what they had learned and have a huge party. Maybe you would give a rousing speech to inspire them. Maybe you would give one final lesson about the most important principles of your area of expertise. When Jesus was faced with this scenario, he washed the feet of his disciples. In his society, washing of someone’s feet was the duty of a slave. Not just any slave, but the lowest of the slaves. With this simple act by Jesus, he didn’t merely speak about the importance of service and humility, he taught it through his actions. We have no better teacher and no higher calling.

Donnie Chaffin,
3rd Dan