Greco-Christian stream·The Imitation of Christ·Book III — On Inward Consolation·Chapter VIII. Of A Low Estimation Of Self In The Sight Of God
VIII. The low estimation of self in God's sight
How a man stands when he reckons himself nothing in God's sight. The lowest self-estimation as the highest standing before God; the publican's prayer rather than the Pharisee's; the nihil sumus that is the foundation of grace.
Source context
- Theme
- radical self-abasement before God as the ground of authentic spiritual cognition
- Soul-faculty
- Consciousness Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Vedanta (Advaita)Shankara's teaching that the ego-sense (ahamkara) must be dissolved before non-dual perception of Brahman can arise exhibits cross-tradition congruence with the Imitatio's insistence that self-inflation blocks true knowledge of God.
- Kabbalah (Mussar movement)The Mussar concept of anavah (humility) as the prerequisite for divine proximity offers a structural parallel to the chapter's claim that lowliness of self-estimation opens the soul to God's light.
- Sufism (Fana)The Sufi stage of fana — annihilation of the nafs before divine presence — shows cross-tradition congruence with the chapter's framing of self-negation as the condition for authentic God-sight.
Chapter VIII. Of A Low Estimation Of Self In The Sight Of God
OF A LOW ESTIMATION OF SELF IN THE SIGHT OF GOD
I will speak unto my Lord who am but dust and ashes. If I count myself more, behold Thou standest against me, and my iniquities bear true testimony, and I cannot gainsay it. But if I abase myself, and bring myself to nought, and shrink from all self-esteem, and grind myself to dust, which I am, Thy grace will be favourable unto me, and Thy light will be near unto my heart; and all self-esteem, how little soever it be, shall be swallowed up in the depths of my nothingness, and shall perish for ever. There Thou showest to me myself, what I am, what I was, and whither I have come: so foolish was I and ignorant.(1) If I am left to myself, behold I am nothing, I am all weakness; but if suddenly Thou look upon me, immediately I am made strong, and filled with new joy. And it is great marvel that I am so suddenly lifted up, and so graciously embraced by Thee, since I am always being carried to the deep by my own weight.
2This is the doing of Thy love which freely goeth before me and succoureth me in so many necessities, which guardeth me also in great dangers and snatcheth me, as I may truly say, from innumerable evils. For verily, by loving myself amiss, I lost myself, and by seeking and sincerely loving Thee alone, I found both myself and Thee, and through love I have brought myself to yet deeper nothingness: because Thou, O most sweet Lord, dealest with me beyond all merit, and above all which I dare ask or think.
3Blessed be Thou, O my God, because though I be unworthy of all Thy benefits, Thy bountiful and infinite goodness never ceaseth to do good even to ingrates and to those who are turned far from Thee. Turn Thou us unto Thyself, that we may be grateful, humble, and godly, for Thou art our salvation, our courage, and our strength.
(1) Psalm lxxiii. 22.