By Eze Nwamadi, Ogbonna Asadu and Ezema Igwenunu 

One attribute of the Almighty God which His willing children share with Him is humility. Humility is hard to come by, given that the natural man seeks to advance self above others.To be humble is to live more in the spirit than in the flesh, to resist the beast of arrogance imprisoned in man at the level of crudity and primitiveness, to refrain from considering oneself superior to others and treat them without scorn and disdain.The natural man is self-serving. It takes self-effacing discipline to acknowledge and practise the understanding that we are what we are by the grace of God and so need not take undue advantage of others who may be less endowed with the gift we have got. It takes humility to abide by rules despite one's status.

God Almighty treasures humility.He almost destroyed Aaron and Miriam for daring to impugn the person of Moses whom the bible records was the humblest and most meek-hearted in his generation(Numbers 12). The Lord exalts the humble but resists the proud( James 4:6).To be humble is to negate pride and arrogance.The humble attract the favour of God. To be humble, however, does not mean to have a low opinion of oneself.It rather means that you know your accomplishments in the right perspective, but would not flaunt them. You could be smart, but you know you are not omniscient; you may be powerful, but you know you are not omnipotent.

What recently played out at Nike during the 70th birthday thanksgiving of Prof. Chinedu Nebo, former minister of power, at an Anglican Church service between Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah and Bishop Sam Onyia was a natural flow of humility and mutual respect. It was a thing for which both Mbah and Onyia should be commended. It was a development that offered itself for a gaze and emulation.

The incoming governor of Enugu State, Barr. Mbah, out of his tight schedules, made it to the thanksgiving service, at a time when the service had already begun. In reverence to the Most High and in utter humility, he quietly sneaked unnoticed into the church and sat at the backend amid the congregation in order to avoid unnecessary attention.His presence naturally would arouse attention, but he had to avoid that lest he would break the flow of the service, and so sat at the back in the congregation. That was while the offering was going on. On sighting him, the bishop also quietly walked to him, and asked that he move to the high table, a request Peter politely and humbly turned down. Peter had felt he is human and could sit in the congregation like any other person, despite his status.The bishop had felt honour should be given to whom it is due and pleaded with Peter to accept his offer, but Mbah would not yield to his plea, as he did not consider it necessary that he would occupy the front seat. Yet the bishop continued to plead with him to do so. Sensing that the man of God was about kneeling down, Peter knelt down and pleaded with the bishop to consider his disposition to sit in the congregation.

Bishop Onyia is a great man of God who understands that to lead is to serve others in demonstration of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ who taught service and humility in leadership when he washed the feet of his apostles. The video clip of the brief scene had attracted interpretations. While over 80% of the comments on the video commended Mbah for his humility, Bishop Onyia was regarded in glowing terms. Minority comments had sought it an occasion to insult the bishop for kneeling down and fawning around Mbah, something they considered the denigration of the church. But then, the church does not seek mortal exaltation.How could the church have been denigrated because the bishop knelt down to plead with Mbah to move to the front seat? It is burn out of ignorance of the working of the church of Jesus Christ to excoriate Bishop Onyia for his show of humility and respect to Mbah and any other congregant for that matter.

The parrots had flown to the political market to announce with scurrilous tongue-lashing of the bishop the event of that day. Chijioke Edeoga had sent his minions as usual to touch the Lord's anointed for no just cause. Edeoga and his ill-bred minions have continued to attack the church. This is not the first time.The overambitious Chijioke has continued to prick his fingers on thorns. The other day, Chijioke sent his men after Bishop Olinya, the Bishop of Isi-Uzo Anglican Diocese, for commending Governor Ugwuanyi over his interventions on the security situation at Eha-Amufu by providing relief and succour to the victims. Chijioke Edeoga has no respect for the church, and that accounts for why he finds it very easy to insult men of God. He had also attacked the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Prof. Bishop Onah, for no good reason other than politics of bitterness he is wont to play.

Once the church is concerned, Edeoga and Ugo Agballa would find a common ground to unit and haul vile language on men of God. Edeoga and Agballa were behind the minority condemnation of Bishop Onyia for his humility. It is not surprising, for apart from the fact that both of them are idol worshippers, they are peacocks with raised shoulders whose arrogance knows no bounds. Humility is a virtue which they lack. Like Lucifer, Chijioke Edeoga and Agballa are self-seeking rebels who stop at nothing in their illicit passion for power, and that is why they have no regard for the church.

Peter Ndubuisi Mbah is naturally humble and wise. He knew it was not a mark of reverence to the church should he have walked to the front seat while he came late to the service. An Edeoga or Agballa would arrogantly spread their plumes, and hubristically saunter to the front seat in notice-me fashion. Peter is humble, wise and softspoken. He is not carried away by his accomplishments. He is focused and result-oriented and has no time for the vanity of pride and arrogance. He could not have allowed the man of God to kneel before him, and that was why he knelt down before the bishop. It was a demonstration of mutual respect for each other and utter reverence to the Almighty God. Peter and the bishop should be commended rather than held with the vile language of the disgruntled politically displaced persons of Chijioke Edeoga and Ugo Agballa despicable hue.