Recently I read an article on road safety online and decided to also read the comments under it. Most of these had one message: “If we didn’t have all these bad drivers on the road, there would be no problem.” Clearly, it was always the fault of others. That reminded me of the statistic that over 80% of all drivers think that their driving is better than average. Something doesn’t add up there.

Of course, we don’t just see that attitude with regard to driving. It seems that most people believe that they are better than others, and that others are wrong more often than they themselves. To a certain extent as humans we need that confidence in our own competence and correctness. Otherwise our lives would be quite broken and uncertain. However, certainly from a Christian point of view, we also need humility and need to see the possibility that we may contribute to some of the world’s problems. We do some of that when we confess our sins. After all, we all fail at least sometimes. Right humility does give us more empathy with others and allows us to more wisely choose our path in life. If our sense of value is not wrapped up in our own abilities, failure is also not so catastrophic.

As Christians we know that the confession of our own faults moves us closer to God and God’s forgiveness and love. For Christians our sense of value and purpose can be closely linked to the love that God has for us. That’s why being humble is not the destruction of self-confidence, but rather the beginning of wisdom. Those who are humble can still strongly advocate for particular causes and work for justice; they may also carry strong convictions that they express in word and action. But they do not need to do those things out of a search for validation, but rather out of concern for others.

Well, I do hope that I did not berate others because they are not humble.