Humility is not bowing one’s head and saying about oneself that I am the greatest sinner, it is not ignorance, “simplicity,” ignorance. Humility is (in love) to ask the one who struck you: why do you strike me? If I am wrong – prove it! And if I am right, in the truth, then what are you doing?! Humility is to stand in the Truth, to be faithful to the Truth – the Lord Jesus Christ! Humility is freedom (“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”). The humble can turn the “other cheek” when struck, or can ask: “Why do you strike me?!” And the humble acts this way or that depending on the situation, seeking the benefit of their neighbor – primarily the one who wrongs them (the humble), more precisely, who wrongs themselves, doing evil! (Humility is freedom, so it is indescribable (it is silent, speaks and even shouts, manifests itself in anger; it is quiet, noisy and even rebellious (makes a commotion in the temple, gives no peace to the priests, exposes heretics); it says: brother, friend… and brood of vipers, offspring of snakes, Satanists… – these are all various forms in which Humility-Love-Truth-Freedom manifests itself); therefore, to one who has not known humility, one can only point to the path of acquiring it – this is the zealous fulfillment of God’s commandments).
The state opposite to humility is pride. (Do not forget: there are no neutral states, a third is not given, all reality is divided into two parts: Heaven and hell; the Kingdom of God and this world. Therefore, the direction of movement is crucial: to Christ, to God or from Christ, to the antichrist, to non-existence; neither hot nor cold – this seemingly innocent (“no one”) state – is the greatest evil-catastrophe: “Oh, that you were…” see Rev. 3:14-18). Signs of humility – knowledge (desire for knowledge, Truth, faithfulness to God, desire to learn-to know), enlightenment, light, joy, freedom, truth, awareness, wisdom, prudence… Signs of pride (absence of humility) – ignorance, prejudice, darkness, despair, sadness, joylessness, desire to dominate (love of power), to teach, self-confidence, selfishness, delusion… Good is the fruit of humility, evil is always from pride, from ignorance, delusion (“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”). But (by God’s mercy) the devil (the revanchist) through his servants – antichrists, false apostles, false teachers, false prophets, heretics, adherents of the “tradition of the elders”… replaced everything, renamed (called evil good, and good evil; humility – pride, and pride – humility) and now the properties of humility are called “pride” (signs of pride), the state (deeds) of humility – delusion; and the state of pride, delusion the servants of Satan preach as the greatest divine virtue – humility (and the antichrists say: be “humble,” for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”; but what they (the servants of Satan) call “humility” is, from the point of view of Truth, devilish pride). Let us give a few examples of this malicious substitution.
Humility is knowledge (at least partial, which tends to grow) of the truth about oneself and about all the reality in which the humble person is. But the modern Orthodox reality teaches a person to fear “delusion” (pride), that if a person discovers, sees in themselves the positive sides of their spiritual state (what belongs to the area of 90% of the truth about oneself – I am loved by God, endowed by God…), this is a sign of “pride.” But this is not so at all. St. Simeon the New Theologian writes:
“Every Christian should see and feel their inner state, whether they are healthy in soul or sick, happy or unhappy, prospering or suffering. And if they do not feel this internally within themselves, then they carry the name of Christian in vain, and although they are called so, in reality they are not. For if they were a true Christian and had communion with the Lord Christ, they would be partakers of His life and light, because Christ is life and light. As a result (of communion-union with Christ in the Holy Spirit), they would see themselves and feel everything of theirs, because seeing and feeling is a natural property of the living, so whoever does not have this is dead. Therefore, whoever does not see and feel the good and evil that resides in them and comes out of them, is still dead and not illuminated (not baptized in the Holy Spirit) by the rays of the rational (personal) Sun of righteousness” (Simeon N. Theologian. Words. M., 1892, pp. 65-66). The apostle Paul speaks of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (see Gal. 5:22-23). All this the Christian (baptized in the Holy Spirit = conceived by God in the Holy Spirit = the one who has received the leaven of the Holy Spirit into the core of their being, their essence, in whom the conscious process of fermenting-enspiriting the whole being takes place, until everything ferments, becomes deified, enspirited) should, at least in the beginnings (the beginning of the growth of the seed, the beginning of fermenting-enspiriting), find in themselves, see, feel in themselves; and all this in the Christian should be seen by others – regardless of their affiliation to the Church (“Let your light (the Grace of the Holy Spirit) shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds (the glory of God, the Grace of the Holy Spirit that lives in you) and glorify your Father in heaven (Who has adopted you by the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus)” – see Matt. 5:16). The Christian life is a conscious life, acquiring catholic consciousness, knowledge of the Holy Trinity. The Christian is the heir of the Kingdom of God, Eternal Life. “And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (see John 17:3). Therefore, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are evident first of all to their owner (the Christian, who (consciously) knows what they have, what they possess), and then to their neighbors, from whom it cannot be hidden by any mask of foolishness (see Matt. 5:14). Therefore, if you do not see (do not feel, do not know consciously) in yourself the fruits of the Holy Spirit – do not deceive yourself – you are poor, you are not a Christian, and additionally, you are in great delusion if you consider yourself a Christian who has something, relies on something, while being in a state, the verdict of which is: “I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” St. Simeon the New Theologian testifies to this: “Let us hurry to see Him (Christ) while we are still alive. For if we are deemed worthy to see Him here, we will not die, and death will not have dominion over us. Let us not wait to see Him in the future life, but now undertake efforts to see Him… Consider whether you are not deceiving yourselves, thinking that you have Christ in you, while you have nothing and are in danger of leaving this life empty-handed… Then you will weep and lament and receive eternal sorrow” (Simeon N. Theologian. Words. M., 1892. p. 180).