It is mid-March, and that means graduate school applications and decisions are almost finalized, job interviews are lining up and resume stress abounds. On interviews and in applications, students are asked to shine light on their accomplishments, minimize their flaws and promote themselves at all costs. After all, that is how life post-Asbury results in the best salary, title or chance to climb the corporate ladder. But how does this promote-yourself attitude come from Christians who are called to humility? Should the commitment to humility bow to the demands of the job market?
The answer to this begins in the fact that the modern understanding of humility is distorted. Humility, according to Dictionary.com, is defined as “a modest or low view of one’s own importance.” While this is technically accurate, the connotations of this definition lend themselves to the thoughts of low self-confidence and an undue diminishing of oneself.
A more accurate and biblical understanding of humility is found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which defines humility as “freedom from pride or arrogance.” This freedom is life-giving but necessarily involves surrender. Yet God does not allow our surrender to be in vain.
How, then, can bowing low in humility before God as Scripture commands be reconciled with self-promotion to get well-paying jobs in a secular marketplace? Simply put, live humbly through giving God glory and knowing your place.
Resumes and applications are great moments of personal reflection. As you list accomplishments and prior experiences, it can be a time of rejoicing in all that God has allowed you to accomplish. Giving God the glory for the material you submit to promote yourself to employers or future schooling is a private method of practicing humility that still honors the calling to pursue excellence in any career pathway.
In a more public setting, practicing humility will likely take on a different sense. In an interview, go ahead and marvel at (not brag about) your accomplishments, but be sure to acknowledge the community that was behind you, that mentor who found you a specific internship, or the ways you had meaningful interactions with people in the course of whatever you did. Demonstrating gratitude is one of the highest forms of humility, as it shows a recognition of the fact that any one life does not exist in a vacuum. No one person is responsible for his or her success.
Here at Asbury, a form of humility can be admitting you don’t know everything and are not the smartest person in the room. Learning to submit to authority, take critiques with grace and handle uncertainty with dignity are powerful lessons in humility. College is a practice round for being wrong a lot of the time. This can either be really defeating or really edifying, and an attitude of humility enables you to learn from your mistakes and grow from difficult circumstances.
Overall, promoting yourself is not a flaw, and is not opposed to the biblical understanding of humility. Being excellent only glorifies God, as he is the one who called you to that work in the first place. When self-promotion becomes proud boasting in ignorance of community and God-given gifts, it becomes sinful. So be excellent. Act in accordance with the biblical model of morality and give God all the glory. In this, James 4:10 will be fulfilled: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”