Increased Faith, Self-Esteem, Psychospiritual Resilience, and Humility - A Lesson from the 27th Sunday Year C Gospel Reading

We all have a tendency to get upset when our hard work is not recognized. When nobody praises and thank our services, don’t we feel resentful? 

This is also what a behaviorism school of modern psychology teaches, as behaviors need reinforcement to continue. And, acknowledgement and praises are very powerful reinforcement factors. 

This paradigm is also somewhat reflected in Adlerian school of psychology, which emphasizes on encouragement for positive behaviors to override or compensate negative behaviors in its therapeutic form. 

Yes, it is important that we acknowledge good behaviors – good works and good services. It is important to encourage people to keep up with the good work to reinforce their good behaviors, good works, and good services. 

But, the question is – can we still keep up with our good behaviors, good works, and good services – even though nobody gives us special recognition, nobody thanks us for all we do? 

The Gospel reading for the 27^th Sunday Year C, Luke 17:5-10, addresses this issue.

In this Gospel narrative, Jesus basically tells us that we are to do our best work and services, even though our good works and services are not recognized and praised in a way to reinforce these good behaviors as a modern psychology tells.  And, this is his answer to the apostle’s expressed desire to increase their faith. 

In other words, Jesus tells that whether we receive acknowledgement and praises for our good works and services should not influence whether we will continue our good works and services – if we have increased faith like a growing mustard seed. 

To appreciate this Jesus’ teaching from a psychological perspective as a pastoral psychologist, my view is that  our increased faith enables us to find internal motivator and reinforce for our good works and services, independent of external reinforcers.  And this internal reinforcer is associated with self-esteem and psychospiritual resilience, both of which are manifestation of increased faith. 

As our faith increases, so do our self-esteem and psychospiritual resilience, as well as our humility, because our ego decreases with our increasing faith.  This way, we can provide our best works and services to others, not because we want to be acknowledged and praised for these but simply because we like doing our best works and services to others, believing that it is our way of serving the Lord.  

To be the kind of humble servants, who say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do”, when we have done all we have been commanded, rather than hoping to be praised by the master, we must have the aforementioned manifestations of increased faith – self-esteem and psychospiritual resilience. 

When someone thanks you for your good work or service, you probably respond saying, “You are welcome.”  This is a typical response in American English. But, in British English, “Not at all”, or “Don’t mention it”, are more common responses. In Spanish, it is “De nada”, which is rather closer to British English response, “Not at all”. 

It seems that Spanish-speaking mentality for “De nada” and British-English-speaking mentality for “Not at all” better reflect what it means to be the kind of humble servants that Jesus is talking about in the Gospel narrative, as such mentalities indicate that what we do is not worth special recognition and praises. 

 

If you really think that all the good works and services you do are not worth recognition and praises but continue to do such works and services without feeling resentful, then, your faith is growing and maturing, resulting in self-esteem and psychospiritual resilience, making you humble. 

And, a good example of a person who practiced this teaching is St. Francis of Assisi, as he continued to serve the poor with joy, whether his service to the poor received special recognition or not, even he had to endure series of humiliation and insults. It is because his motive to serve the poor was not to become a center of attention but simply to be more intimate with the suffering Christ. 

St. Francis’ feast was October 4.  So, on the heel of his feast, we can have St. Francis of Assisi as our role model in our efforts of increasing our faith – in our growth in faith to increase our self-esteem, psychospiritual  resilience, and humility, while decreasing our ego, the root of our narcissistic disposition.

The below prayer of St. Francis captures the spirit of Jesus' teaching in Luke 17:5-10.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

We may not seek much as our increased faith makes us humble. It means that we serve - not to be praised but to please, because it is joy.  And, our increased faith makes enables us to practice all said in this prayer, even nobody recognize and appreciate our services, even we are insulted and ridiculed -  because our increased faith manifests in our self-esteem, psychospiritual resilience, and humility.
May our increasing faith makes us humble servants of the Lord like St. Francis of Assisi.