On modesty

[이재모]

Human maturity and modesty go hand in hand.

Modesty is the yardstick to measure human

maturity. One can get mature only when one

grows modesty as one grows old.

If anyone should be, instead of being modest, so

arrogant as to believe that he is better than others,

he would be inclined to ignore the advice of those

who are wiser than himself, hence little chance of

success both in work and life, whereas those who

humble themselves to seek wisdom and knowledge

from every source have a better chance of success.

An arrogant man is, in fact, a fool, because, by

being arrogant, he kills the possibility of making

friends with people around him, because they

instinctively avoid an arrogant man, let alone

less possibility of success in his work and life.

Staying modest means that one has an open

mind toward the enormity of human wisdom and

knowledge that can help one cope with problems

one is bound to face in the course of one's life.

Let's train ourselves to be modest no matter

what happens. Modesty is the most important

virtue in human relationship, becasue modesty

makes a friend but arrogance makes an enemy.

God bless those who constantly accept new

knowledge and wisdom by humbling themselves,

believing that their presence, their wisdom and

knowledge are nothing but an invisible part of

the infinite universe, just as a big river accepts

countless large or small water-flows by flowing

at a lower level than them to finally reach the sea.