• Home
  • About Off The Grid
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Survival
  • Gardening
  • Food
  • Worldview
  • Health
  • Privacy
  • Hunting
  • Defense
  • Financial
  • News
  • Misc
No Result
View All Result
  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Survival
  • Gardening
  • Food
  • Worldview
  • Health
  • Privacy
  • Hunting
  • Defense
  • Financial
  • News
  • Misc
No Result
View All Result
Off The Grid News
Home Worldview

Pruning Time, part 6: Humility

by Joanna H
in Worldview
Print Print
Pruning Time, part 6: Humility
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on TruthEmail Article

Humility is just as much the opposite of self-abasement as it is of self-exaltation. To be humble is not to make comparisons. . . To be nothing in the self-effacement of humility, yet, for the sake of the task, to embody its whole weight and importance in your bearing, as the one who has been called to undertake it. — Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings

There is a lot of talk in the wider culture about the importance of maintaining a healthy self-esteem.  It’s true that when we despise ourselves we waste a lot of energy on self-loathing, and we may not push ourselves to be brave, loving, honest and faithful. If we don’t recognize the importance of our lives and the choices we face daily, we are less apt to make choices that bring us into right relationship with the earth, with our neighbors, with God.

But self-esteem can easily be misunderstood in a destructive way. I’ve wasted a lot of energy on trying to maintain a good opinion of myself, or trying to make sure others have a good opinion of me. Sometimes I try to accumulate an impressive list of Good Deeds, but when I’m focused on proving something about myself I have less attention to give to the people I am dealing with, the requirements of the task at hand, or the larger question of what work really is good and necessary.  Sometimes the attempt to boost my self-esteem leads me to ignore or resent other people’s criticism, even when that criticism contains important truths.

I’m learning the importance of the humility that Hammarskjöld describes. This humility is based on a shift in focus.  Instead of being obsessed with myself…my faults, my virtues, my image… I need to remember that I am not the center of the universe. I need to learn, as Hammarskjöld wrote elsewhere, to see myself as a means not an end.  I need to love the people around me, do the work before me, keep watching for God who meets me in everything I meet.

When I have this attitude, my faults are not terrible blemishes to hide, but things to correct so that I can love and work more effectively.  My good work is not a credit to cancel out my faults, but my gift to the world I love. My worth is not determined by my own self-regard or the opinions of others but by the fact that I am a child of, and a fellow worker with, God.

ShareTweetShareSend

Related Posts

Christ… Paul… And The Fulfillment Of God’s Law

Christ… Paul… And The Fulfillment Of God’s Law

by Bill Heid

It’s Always Been Unlawful To Use The Law Unlawfully This is probably the single most misunderstood aspect of the bible...

False Hopes and Empty Thrones: Why Political Saviors Always End Up In Tragedy

False Hopes and Empty Thrones: Why Political Saviors Always End Up In Tragedy

by Bill Heid

The Never-Ending Cry for Salvation Through Politics Throughout history, people have longed for salvation… not just spiritual, but political. From...

Why It’s So Hard To Argue… Debate Or Discuss Anything These Days

Why It’s So Hard To Argue… Debate Or Discuss Anything These Days

by Bill Heid

The Truth is… All Facts are Run Through Filters In today’s polarized world, it’s easy to assume that the person...

Next Post
Pruning And Training Apple Trees

Pruning And Training Apple Trees

Please login to join discussion

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

BREAKING: All 10 Children Returned To Off-Grid Naugler Family

BREAKING: All 10 Children Returned To Off-Grid Naugler Family

Why Kim Davis Was Right — And Is A Hero

Why Kim Davis Was Right — And Is A Hero

Briefcase Backup – The Suitcase Solar Generator

Briefcase Backup – The Suitcase Solar Generator

TRENDING STORIES

  • bubonic plague

    Is Another Bubonic Plague Pandemic On The Horizon?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Waco Fertilizer Plant Explosion & A Look Back On The “Waco Massacre”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Make Yourself 3 Times More Likely To Survive A Heart Attack

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • AI Surveillance Of Shoppers: Walmart’s Newest Tool To Grab Your Data

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Apocalyptic’ Microchip Implants Are Here – And Being Inserted Into People’s Hands

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Subscribe to our Insider Newsletter

Huge discounts on off-the-grid gear and life saving supplements.






‘Off The Grid News’ is an independent, weekly email newsletter and website that is crammed full of practical information on living and surviving off the grid. Advice you’ll never hear from the mainstream media.

  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Extreme Survival
  • Survival Gardening
  • Off-Grid Foods
  • Worldview
  • Natural Health
  • Survival Hunting
  • Privacy
  • Financial
  • Current Events
  • Self Defense
  • Home Defense
  • Pain-Free Living
  • Miscellaneous
  • Off Grid Videos

© Copyright 2025 Off The Grid News.  All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy   Terms & Conditions
No Result
View All Result
  • How-To
  • Grid Threats
  • Survival
  • Gardening
  • Food
  • Worldview
  • Health
  • Privacy
  • Hunting
  • Defense
  • Financial
  • News
  • Misc
  • Videos

© Copyright 2025 Off The Grid News.  All Rights Reserved.