TRUE HUMILITY

A spiritual work offers an examination of authentic Christian humility.

Many people, writes Seah, including myriad Christians, misunderstand the quality of humility. They see it as a lesser value, focusing instead on things like grace, kindness, or love. Far too many folks, he asserts, consider humility a weakness and take offense at the suggestion that they should learn to practice it themselves. The author’s inquiries into the subject revealed to him the workings of related concepts, like proud, boastful false humility. To Seah, true inner humility is based on an internal assessment of an individual’s own personal strengths and weaknesses and manifests itself on different levels, which he deftly explores. In order to illustrate the various pitfalls people can encounter along the way, the author presents both real figures like Jim Jones and fictionalized characters, such as “Mister Numb,” who exemplifies some of the worst results of false humility (“Left to himself, with no social interaction, Mister Numb will develop a toxic and vicious cycle of dark thoughts”). Since the 1970s, Seah writes, “rising trends of the self have turned many toward self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-indulgent behaviors.” By embracing these trends, numerous people fall into pride and false humility. But through his Christian beliefs, Seah was able to unravel the important facts about “True Humility,” which he characterizes as a “fun, meaningful, and collaborative process” while admitting it can feel daunting, especially if attempted alone. In his earnest work, the author’s thoughts on the broader subject of humility are intriguing and simply written, and it won’t only be his Christian readers who will benefit from a plea for greater mindfulness and less braggadocio. As a timely antidote to the ubiquitous “humble bragging” of today’s social media culture, the book’s many gentle calls for a low-key, unassuming perspective that gives as much credit to others as it claims for itself are both relevant and refreshing.

A bracing and heartfelt call to abandon false humility in favor of the genuine article.