The Absence of Arrogance

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 22:4

One day Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel attended a luncheon in Washington, D.C., hosted by Katharine Graham, the far-famed publisher of The Washington Post. Mrs. Graham’s parties were legendary, and she rubbed shoulders with the greatest statesmen on earth. “Mrs. Graham,” asked Dr. Bethel, “you have hosted all the greatest leaders from around the world. What is the single most important trait of all great leaders?” Mrs. Graham answered without even pausing to think. “The absence of arrogance,” she said.

When you think of influential leaders—those whose legacy has grown over time—you think of people with a streak of humility, whose desire for service eclipsed the desire for fame and fortune. Great leaders are those who listen and who pause to speak to others without concern for rank or status. The best leaders on earth are gracious, not grandiose. They seem to possess an absence of arrogance.

We’re all leaders in one way or another. To be effective, we should display God’s humility, not a false pretense of our own. Let’s all develop the quality of being humble, not haughty.

The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be wretched. A tree does not know itself to be wretched.
Blaise Pascal