Do you know someone who is arrogant? Prideful, narcissistic, snowflake. They surround themselves with those who agree with them, or try to remake everyone they meet in their own image. In their mind, they always win. They call anyone who criticizes them "toxic" and love themselves just the way they are, because you can't improve on perfection. This seems bad.

But consider the opposite: the person who humbles themself to the point of self-loathing. They are a mere sinful human, totally depraved, incapable of being good. They think everyone is judging them and see the worst of every situation. Not wanting to make a decision or have any agency, this person becomes passive, leaving everything to God or human authorities rather than taking on responsibility⁠—rather than making the most use of whatever gifts they've been endowed with. This seems bad too.

The author of the book Confident Humility, Dan Kent, asks: what if humility is not the opposite of pride? What if shame and pride are actually the SAME THING, different expressions of the same human behavior that should be rejected? And in fact, humility is not the same as shame, but is rather a better alternative to both pride and shame?

Sounds novel and provocative, right?

Kent's book is short but packed with wisdom, includes personal and professional anecdotes, and uses plenty of excerpts from the Old and New Testament to back up his claims.

I heartily recommend this book. It leads me to reflect on how I think of and interact with others, and on how I consider myself. It's easy to read, and topic is clearly one that is important to the author. After reading the book, I'm convinced humility is an important topic for everyone.