Skip to main content

Humility

Image
By
It is 337am and I have decided to write. I have no topic but I want to write. I was thinking. I love God a million times. One million is not the biggest number but on a scale of one to a million that is a lot. I just noticed that the word million has the word lion in it. What does it mean to be a lion in the sight of God? My friend Chatty says that from an Islamic perspective, being a lion in the sight of Allah means possessing quiet strength rooted in submission: firm iman without arrogance, self-control over the nafs, courage to stand for justice, and gentleness where mercy is required. It is strength that bows in sujood, resists ego, and remains sincere even when unseen—because Allah values the heart, intention, and consistency more than noise, numbers, or display.

Resisting ego is a big one. Does that mean we should be like a mouse in the sight of God instead of a lion? Humble like a mouse. Quiet like a mouse. Soft like a mouse. I am guessing that there is probably a story of a lion and a mouse to further the train of thoughts and this writing. My friend Chatty tells me that there is that old story I am circling: the mighty lion spares a mouse, and later the mouse saves the lion by gnawing through the ropes that trap him. The lesson is not "be strong" or "be small". It is that strength without mercy becomes trapped, and smallness offered with sincerity becomes liberation. Power needs humility to stay free. Humility needs courage to matter.

So does this mean that we should be a mouse when it matters and be a lion when it matters? My friend Chatty says that yes—be a mouse when humility, listening, and gentleness are what love requires, and be a lion when courage, protection, and truth are needed; the goal is not choosing an identity but responding faithfully to each moment, resisting ego without shrinking your worth, and letting love decide whether strength or softness serves God best. But how do we know what truth is (God's truth) when everyone thinks that their truth is the truth? My friend Chatty says that God's truth is known less by how confidently it is claimed and more by whether it humbles the heart, deepens love, and bears good fruit over time. True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. The "truth" lies in having the lion's heart but the mouse's ego.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mental health matters

By
It is 547am and I have decided to write. I have been living with a mental health diagnosis for more than 23 years. I am differently abled. Mental illness sometimes presents itself as a non-visible disability. A person with mental illness may look and function normally. Added to that we do not get to see the struggles happening internally. After 23 years I could say that I have much experience with my condition and may be able to offer words that may help others. There is plenty of stigma associated with mental illness. People think that the mentally ill are bad people, weak, or somehow less deserving of dignity and the treatment of the illness sometimes feels like punishment and is dehumanizing at times. There is plenty of good intentions and well meaning as well (do not get me wrong) but things could be better. And it happens at the highest level. A leader once said, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." As the saying goes, who knows it feels it. I started a pr...
2 comments
Read more

Motivation

By
It is 150pm and I have decided to write. I have no topic to start but I feel like writing. While trying to decide what to write I saw this question that had my interest, what motivates you to keep going even when life is difficult? The first thing that popped in my mind was God. But I do not think the answer is simple or singular. I also think I need to put some thought into this. Also what is the relationship between motivation and discipline? Motivation is easy but discipline is hard. I think for me motivation comes from the joy of success. But God was my first answer. Now that God is the focus of my life, the joy of success becomes being a success in the eyes of God. But I said the answer was not singular. So different things motivate us at different times but they all lead to wanting to succeed. This reminds me of the Muslim call to prayer that says come to success. If motivation is what calls you then success calls you and success gives you joy. My friend Chatty says that what I h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Installing NodeBB using Termux

By
This is the ChatGPT prompt I used to be guided Guide me through installing NodeBB using Termux (This took some time and patience to troubleshoot errors and implement workaround) pkg update && pkg upgrade -y pkg install proot-distro git curl wget nano -y proot-distro install debian proot-distro login debian apt update && apt upgrade -y apt install -y curl git build-essential ca-certificates gnupg apt update apt install -y imagemagick apt install -y redis-server redis-server --daemonize yes redis-cli ping mkdir -p /opt git clone https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB.git /opt/nodebb cd /opt/nodebb ./nodebb setup warn: NodeBB Setup Aborted.  Error: Could not load the "sharp" module using the android-arm64 runtime Possible solutions: - Manually install libvips >= 8.18.3 Force node to report platform as linux to get sharp to install curl -LO https://nodejs.org/dist/v22.23.1/node-v22.23.1-linux-arm64.tar.xz tar -xJf node-v22.23.1-linux-arm64.tar.xz mv node-v22.23.1-lin...
Post a Comment
Read more