The Rule of St. Benedict and Degrees of Humility
We're about to get back to following The Rule of St. Benedict as laid out day by day - a project we started last fall. We called it our "Stability Project." If you recall, our purpose was to instill some calm and steadiness into our workplace in the face of the C-Virus Mess that began in early 2020. Jabs, mandates, passports and the totalitarian government actions that support them have left their mark on many if not all of us, ranging from nagging distraction to outright disruption of our otherwise orderly daily routine.
Having finished the entries dubbed "The Tools of Good Works," we jump back in with a series of daily readings about the importance of the virtue of Humility, beginning with initial remarks about Obedience.
Obedience is referred to as "the first degree of humility." Given the importance of the virtue of humility, that puts Obedience in a compelling position. It serves as a kind of precondition developing the virtue of humility. Now, to be clear, St. Benedict's remarks were directed towards his monks. Therefore, he will address the monks' obligation to be obedient to their Superior. We common men at work may not answer to someone dubbed "Superior," but it's easy to see how his remarks fit neatly into a secular workplace.
For example, think about the sometimes endless flow of tasks and projects we all face every day. Each comes with some sort of deadline. Some may not be all that interesting or stimulating. (I've got plenty of these.) But we've got to get them done anyway. With that in mind, consider...
"The first degree of humility is obedience without delay. This becometh those who hold nothing dearer to them than Christ...as soon as anything has been ordered by the superior, they receive it as a divine command and cannot offer any delay in executing it..."
In any business, priorities shift, sometimes day to day. For example, I typically have a complete week's worth of tasks scheduled ahead of time. But from time to time, something pops up that requires me to shift and sort that list to allow time to address an item that commands my immediate attention and/or resolution. I understood the following with that in mind:
"...Such as these, therefore, immediately abandoning their own affairs and forsaking their own will, dropping the work they were engaged on and leaving it unfinished, with swift obedience follow up with their deeds the voice of him who commands them. And almost in the same moment of time that the master's order is issued, is the disciple's work completed, in the swiftness of the fear of the Lord; the two things being rapidly accomplished together by those who are impelled by the desire of attaining life everlasting..."
As with so much of what St. Benedict instructs, following his Rule will yield both spiritual and practical benefits.
"...this obedience itself will then be acceptable to God and pleasing to men..."
But we must address our obligations in the right spirit:
"...if what is commanded be not done timorously, or tardily, or tepidly, nor with murmuring or the raising of objections....disciples should give their obedience with a good will, because God loveth a cheerful giver. For if the disciple obey with an ill will, and the murmur not only in words but even in his heart, then even though he fulfil the command, his work will not be acceptable to God, who sees that his heart is murmuring..."
At times this can be challenging. When we face tasks we're not enthusiastic about, or have to deal with people we find annoying or overbearing, it's hard to be cheerful. But if we keep God front and center in our minds as we work through the day, it could be a great help in avoiding the ill will and murmuring that may come quite naturally to us.
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