In scripture we read: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (Luke 18:11-13). Indeed, it is a very hard thing to truly be a humble man, especially if you are as proud and audacious as to not only self-proclaim your humbleness and goodness, but so too to list the reasons why you are so wonderful especially in comparison to others. Whereas, the tax collector, understood deeply the distance between whom he was, and where he needed to be, and this recognition, humbled him, greatly.
America, is a country where humility isn't really savored as a virtue, instead, we are subject to all sorts of braggadocio, loud talk, the pounding of one's chest, the shouting down of others, and all the other assorted nefarious tools of people that believe that they are all that, and thereby we should listen and obey them, and thereby shut our mouths in abject humility to them. While it is true that when accomplishing work at our job that we do need to have certainty and confidence that what we are all doing is the right thing to do, that the very skills and knowledge that we bring to the table, should be utilized correctly and firmly, this does not mean, should not mean, that this translates into believing that we are therefore infallible in all things, at all times.
This misplaced confidence that so many have, resides in the ego asserting itself, to the exclusion of recognizing that if we truly comprehended the wisdom of the ages, the wisdom of our Creator, we would be far more respectful in our worldly demeanor and in our actions, in recognition that we do not possess by ourselves true compassion, true vision, and true justice, without error of any sort. The humble man is a doer, who sets upon a task and does it to the best of their ability, in tribute to our Creator; whereas the egotistical man is one that may too be a doer, but does all for the glory of his own talents, however it may be bundled and dressed up, and never really is done as a testimony to the acknowledgment that he is a child of the Most High God.
The humble man does not desire to puff up his chest, because his purpose is to stay fixated on the prize which requires both dedication and concentration on the task itself, and when he falls short or makes an error, he corrects himself, in recognition that all errors must be erased or learnt from. The proud man is quite fond of receiving as much glory as he can for himself, failing to recognize, that all such selfish glory is not becoming and at odds with the very mission of this existence, which is to surrender one's ego at the feet of God, without which he will never ultimately become One with God.
Humility is common sense, that is to say, no mortal man should ever believe that he knows all, does all, and is all, or anything even close to such a proclamation, for many reasons, foremost amongst them is that most men do not even recognize who they are to begin with. We are all not so much the chosen, but the fallen; those that have stepped away from God's grace, in the very mistaken belief, that we are gods unto ourselves, and when enlightened upon the real truth, the only proper and correct response, is absolute humility to He who is all, who offers us the stairway to Heaven, if we would only just walk the walk and follow its golden-hue path.