Forming children in humility is a primary duty for parents

WITHOUT HUMILITY, YOU cannot be devoted to Our Lord; you cannot be a loving spouse or a loving parent; you cannot be a true friend. You, Christian Reader, are nothing without the virtue of humility. 

Dear Parent, you walk a fine line — seemingly — between teaching your child humility and developing a strong self-esteem. The world has never, nor ever will, esteem humility. Just look around: everything is geared towards vanity, self-promotion, and self-indulgence. Truly, your child is growing up in unprecedented times of vanity.

What is important to understand, however, is that true self-esteem comes from humility. Humility is, rather simply put, the proper knowledge of self in relation to God. How on earth could you not want your child to know where he stands in relation to God?

There is nothing more freeing for your child than to know that Almighty God is infinitely greater, more powerful, more knowledgeable than he ever will be. This does not destroy the child’s confidence. No! It gives him a greater sense of security, of purpose, and of placement in the universe.

And so, as a parent, you must raise your child to see all things from the standpoint of pride and humility. True, your child naturally gravitates towards certain vices: gluttony, anger, sloth … But you must creatively and insightfully show your son or daughter that these sins are rooted in pride. … No matter the sin, identify and articulate the prideful root of that particular vice. Train your child’s mind to detect the presence of pride.

In like manner, when you witness virtue in your child’s life or the life of others, intentionally point out the beauty of humility present therein. …

Humility is everything. And a saint learns how to view all thoughts, words, and actions as either acts of pride or acts of humility, for truly, every thought, word, and action is taking us closer to God or further from Him.

Your duty as a parent is to teach your child to render himself entirely obedient to God. Period. There is no consolation prize for the parent who neglects this one divinely given duty…. Teaching your child that his successes come from God is paramount in the spiritual life. “The truly humble man considers that whatever is good in his material or spiritual nature is like unto the streams that have come originally from the sea and must eventually return to the sea, and therefore he is always careful to render to God all that he has received from God, and neither prays for nor loves nor desires anything except that all things the name of God has sanctified: ‘Hallowed be thy name’ (Matt. 6:9)” (from Cajetan Mary de Bergamo, Humility of Heart).

Conor Gallagher is CEO of Good Will Publishers and its subsidary, TAN Books, and earned both is master's degree in philosohpy and his Juris Doctoris from The Catholic University of America. He and his wife, Ashley, are proud parents of 15 children and are members of Legatus' Charlotte Chapter