You might say that it was Benjamin Franklin’s disillusionment with a sermon on Philippians 4:8 that was at least partly responsible for his conceiving of “the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection” that is his 13 virtues.
A wise life is a virtuous life. There is an expectation of behavior from someone who claims to be wise. This 13-part series will seek to help us understand a life that is exemplified by the characteristics elevated by this great American statesman.
EXPOSE | Humility
“Imitate Jesus and Socrates.” – Benjamin Franklin
EXPLORE | Have an Honest View of Ourselves
Are you as struck by Franklin’s recommendation as I am?
Why both?
If you’re going to include Jesus on any list, there really isn’t any need to include anyone else.
It was curious to me what Franklin might have been thinking that would lead him to include these two people specifically, and only these two people. Perhaps it was this prompting from a personal friend of Franklin’s:
“My list of virtues continued at first but twelve; but a Quaker friend having kindly informed me that I was generally thought proud, that my pride showed itself frequently in conversation, that I was not content with being in the right when discussing any point, but was overbearing and rather insolent, of which he convinced me by mentioning several instances, I determined endeavoring to cure myself, if I could, of this vice or folly among the rest, and I added Humility to my list, giving an extensive meaning to the word.”
Humility is “a modest or low view of one’s own importance.” It may well be that you are important, or the best, but humility moderates a balanced view of how you should view yourself. God opposes the proud just as all others are repulsed by them.
Humility ensures there is room for others to weigh in; the final arbiters are those who see more of us than what we see in the mirror. Self-awareness is met by a jury of our peers that helps silence the internal voice of pride.
“A great man is always willing to be little.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is no “littler” person than Jesus, and it doesn’t take much to make that case. With just these several verses from the Bible, the magnitude of his humility is put in view:
“…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, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:5-8
The One who is the most, living as the least. The Highest, living as the lowest. There simply is no better example of humility.
When it comes to earthly examples of humility, one would do well to consider the observations of Socrates. This light overview is only meant to expose the idea of humility in a couple of key points.
We get a good understanding of Socrates through Plato, in particular with The Apology, which Plato wrote based on the trial of Socrates for “not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, inventing new deities, and corrupting the youth of Athens.”
From that trial comes the famous quote from Socrates: “an unexamined life is not worth living.” Considering that, it can be easy to see how the Socratic Method would be valuable for examining one’s life and driving us toward humility. The examination of one’s beliefs or values to see if they are correct is absolutely worth imitating.
One other point from Socrates worth noting is the idea that: one is wise when they realize they are not wise. He was someone who knew a great deal, but yet it led him to conclude how little he ultimately knew. However, our willingness to acknowledge this possibility puts us on a dangerous precipice, teetering between accepting the fact that we can’t, and won’t, know everything and, swelling with pride over the perception of how humble we are.
No doubt Franklin admired Jesus for the fact that there was no teetering. He was wise and lived out humility perfectly. Socrates most likely shared the challenge Franklin, and for that matter, every one of us faces in dealing with “being great at being least”. Benjamin describes it this way:
“In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
EXECUTE | Factors in living humbly
Franklin characterizes the struggle for humility accurately as an ongoing wrestling match. We need to get our hands around its neck and squeeze for all we’re worth, being careful not to ever let up. Let’s consider how that death grip might be possible:
Stand Guard
Awareness is one thing, but being alert–ready to engage–is another. Actively guarding our hearts will allow us to become aware more immediately, and render the necessary response. That is captured in Psalm 119:9: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
The purity of mind, body, and soul are possible through the proper response to the very counsel of God. He will help identify pride and lead us to extinguish it.
Administer Frequent Examinations
It is true, an “unexamined life is not worth living”. Which is to say that we are to live an “examined life.” This goes beyond being on alert, to conducting frequent and in-depth scans of all areas of your life.
Which, has been the focus of this blog. To consider how we can apply wisdom in our lives, mind, body, and soul. That pretty much covers it all. What are you feeding those areas? How are they responding? Are you exercising what is good for those areas at the right frequency and intensity?
First, Be Grateful
Starting with gratitude can help push pride away. Now, I say grateful because I don’t mean thankful. You can be thankful too, but I want us to avoid being thankful for something rather than being grateful to someone. Pharisees had the tendency to be thankful.
Gratitude is a better expression of humility. We are not ultimately responsible for what we have, or who we are, because that is owed to the Creator. That you’re taller, or faster, or mightier than others should not be first attributed back to you.
Interestingly, where we end with the list of virtues, is probably the best place to start. Humility is not just a result, it is a pathway to fully realizing the virtuous life. And close this 13-part series with this final quote from Benjamin Franklin:
“Revolving this project in my mind, as to be undertaking hereafter, when my circumstances should afford me the necessary leisure, I put down from time to time, on pieces of paper, such thoughts as occurred to me respecting it…
“That there is one God, who made all things.
“That He governs the world by His providence.
“That He ought to be worshiped by adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving.
“But that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man.
“That the soul is immortal.,
“And that God will certainly reward virtue and punish vice, either here or hereafter.”
Drawing inspiration from Paul’s letter (Phil. 4:8) and Benjamin Franklin’s quest for virtuous living, this e-book and audio set aims to explore and put into practice these virtues as we exercise Wisdom In All Things.
Franklin’s “meticulous execution” of his 13 virtues was embodied in a chart he developed in order to observe and quantify his growth toward perfection.
There are a number of examples of his chart available, but here is one for reference from Homeschool Patriot:
Whether you use this chart, or devise something yourself, it is certainly in your best interest to have some tool in place to not only keep you focused, but to establish the habit of intentional growth in those characteristics that make up the virtuous life.
