Thursday, April 17, 2008

is God humble?


Last night we had a great evening with some friends, discussing spirituality and various themes of the individual's spiritual growth.

Some of these themes regarded our own abasement, our weaknesses, our incapacity to manifest the virtues that God endowed us with and that shine forth from His Sun.

In one of the quote it talked about human beings being the only created thing that can in potential reflect all of God's attributes, whereas all the rest of creation is limited in their expression.

But one thing was interesting. We considered the virtue of humilty, and wondered if it is a virtue of God.

I am extremely interested in knowing what others think.

The group did not come to a conclusion, but we brought it down to two options (as if that was hard.. hehehe)

a) God is not Humble. It is the only virtue He does not need as He is above our realm and any other. He is the Creator. Hence we, creation, have been given a unique capacity to shine forth, our humility.

b) Man is in potential a mirror of God. He has all the virtues of God. Where does humility come from? It must be of God. And if God wanted to, Him being all powerul, He could be Humble beyond comprehension.

Interesting no? I researched and did not find any clear answer as of yet..
Do you have any interesting thoughts? Please comment!!

Where do you stand??

ShidON

10 comments:

limonana said...

I think God is all the attributes together, so He must be also humble! It is a beautiful virtue...:O)

Shido said...

shirin, i love your paintings... i put it up, because it reminds me of how great God is and how tiny we are...
thank you

Ashkan said...

I think that humility is the station belonging to human nature.
If a person is humble, is because he realised his poorness as creature, his incapacity of developing all the true qualities belonging to God...the very condition that allows the Light of God's attributes to shine in his reality.
So I see it as the only "quality or attribute" that man actually owns (that is actually to realise he has nothing of his own, his absolute nothingness in comparison to God)...as the action of opening one's heart to the attributes of God.
big hug to u shidoooo

limonana said...

thanks shido! i'm so happy, finally someone who understands my work! it is very much about what you say, the smallness of humans in the face of their lives & the universe...

TeJ said...

Wondering with a friend, just some time ago, if humility is among God's virtue or it belongs only to human station, it came out that indeed all Manifestations of God(like Buddha, Jesus, Baha'u'llah), were very humble toward others and the creation... so whether is God's or not, we came to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter, since He show's us how important is to practice it in our life with sincerity and loving kindness!
:-)

montague said...

good question shido. i don't know what the answer is, bit it's worth pondering the question!

liamk said...

ask Danielle Fallahi, she will without doubt give you an answer! (shes on Facebook)

Anonymous said...

of course he's humble ever read genesis? only a truly humble being can create an intricate complex universe then stand back to simply say "It is good" interesting discussion you had with your friends though! :)

An American Loser said...

Why would god be humble? He is the almighty.
Man is not an exact reflection of god. man was made in the image of god. Look in the mirror, do you see all of your qualities? Can you see your back? Can you see your personalities? Only some of Gods qualities were inhereited my man. man is Greedy, and self centered. Man is also self destructive. If god has to be humble then he would have to be those things as well.

Anonymous said...

Christians believe that God revealed Himself through Jesus of Nazareth. That is humility when you consider Jesus' birth and death. The Bible says concerning Jesus that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together... For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. – Colossians 1:15-20
Now picture the baby being born in a manger. This Christ described by Paul above is the same one who came as a servant. No glamour, no earthly riches and no place to lay His head. He was born in the most awkward of situations yet it was the most beautiful event that can be imagined. When put into perspective of who Jesus is in eternity, how truly amazing is His birth?
Elsewhere we are told to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
As the God-Man Jesus humbled Himself to the point of submitting to a painful, humiliating execution, out of love for the Father and for us. That is a startling manifestation of Divine Humility! Can you think of anything more humbling for God to do.
Jesus, who is God was born into this world in the humblest of ways to a poor young woman and dies a criminal's death.
Can we grasp how incredible this really is? Look at Jesus in eternity past. Imagine the constant fellowship that He enjoyed with God the Father through the Holy Spirit. Divine life was ever being exchanged. Everything that was created was made through Him and for Him. And He comes to a meager stall where animals are kept at night and dies amidst the ridicule of those He created and came to rescue from sin.
Why was God born in a stable and then die on a cross? Because He loves you!
- Saint Francis of Assisi, in The Praises of God says of God: You are love; You are wisdom; You are humility