Ever so 'umble

Diadochus of Photike says that humility means "never thinking about what one deserves."

I find this quite a profound little statement. Clearly to think that one deserves any reward is out of the question, yet we often pray that our reward should be the satisfaction that we are doing the Will of God, yet really we don't even deserve that!

I am not certain of my Salvation as an hitherto completed process, since I must continue to work that out with fear and trembling as St Paul said he had to. Is it possible then that to think that one is already saved is a at least verging towards a lack of humility? Certainly those who take Communion are not showing humility.

There is a flip-side though, if we mustn't think of what we deserve, does that mean that we shouldn't consider the punishment that we deserve? Certainly there is a lack of humility within anyone who refuses to accept the grace of God on the basis that they are unworthy. Of course, we are always unworthy to receive Communion, yet it is the presence of Christ who destroys our unworthy through the Blood that we drink. But not to receive Communion on the grounds that we are unworthy is hubris. I know, I've done that!

That there are consequences for our evil actions is very clear, and we do need to consider those consequences not in the manner of judgment and thus sentencing, since that would be supplanting Christus Judex, but as a remembrance of our fallen nature and need for repentence. This is why God gave us the Sacrament of Confession in order that our humility should not be damaged by presuming His judgement.

There are schools of thought that prefer positive statements to negative ones, and this maxim of Diadochus is of course phrased negatively. How might we phrase it in a positive aspect?

Humility: "always receiving gratefully the gift of God"

What do you think?