Humility is the root of all happiness.

[17] My son, perform your tasks in meekness;
then you will be loved by those whom God accepts.
[18] The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself;
so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.
[20] For great is the might of the Lord;
he is glorified by the humble.
[21] Seek not what is too difficult for you,
nor investigate what is beyond your power.
[22] Reflect upon what has been assigned to you,
for you do not need what is hidden.
[23] Do not meddle in what is beyond your tasks,
for matters too great for human understanding
have been shown you.
[24] For their hasty judgment has led many astray,
and wrong opinion has caused their thoughts to slip.
(26] A stubborn mind will be afflicted at the end,
and whoever loves danger will perish by it.
[27] A stubborn mind will be burdened by troubles,
and the sinner will heap sin upon sin.
[28] The affliction of the proud has no healing,
for a plant of wickedness has taken root in him.
[29] The mind of the intelligent man will ponder a parable,
and an attentive ear is the wise man's desire.
(Sirach 3:17-29)

Humility is perhaps one of the most characteristic, yet least imitated of all Christian virtues. It stands in direct opposition to the deadliest of the seven deadly sins: pride, which C.S. Lewis called “the complete anti-God state of mind.”
Full of practical teachings on how to live a happy life, the book of Sirach is a distillation of centuries of accumulated Jewish wisdom. Humility has an attractive quality, which is why the truly humble person is loved more than a giver of gifts.
This isn’t just a piece of practical advice about how to conduct yourself at a dinner party; it is about our relationship with God. Pride is essentially rebellion against God. It is the most diabolical sin and the most insidious because the more we have it, the less we can see it in ourselves. The humble person, in contrast, sees himself clearly because he sees himself in relation to God. “God is immeasurably superior to yourself,” C S Lewis said. “Unless you know God as that, you do not know God at all.”
“It is the complete anti-God state of mind.” The cure for pride is humility, which not only acknowledges one’s unworthiness before God, but also imitates Christ who “did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). If pride is the root cause of human misery, then humility is the way to true happiness.

Peace and love,

Sue

"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me". (Luke 9:23)