Archetype 15: Modesty
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
—Matthew 6:5–6
The Reading
Jesus is telling us not to make public displays of prayer. Prayer is not about trying to impress others; it is about deepening our relationship with God. When we tell others how wonderful we are because we are better Christians than they are, we are not using prayer to deepen our relationship with God. We are using prayer to deepen our relationship with Ego.
This same admonition applies to charitable work. Charitable work is the public manifestation of faith. This includes taking care of the poor, healing the sick, and visiting those in prison. Are we doing these as a public manifestation of faith or as a public manifestation of Ego? Work done as a manifestation of faith nurtures faith. Work done as a manifestation of Ego nurtures Ego.
As Christians, we understand that our abilities are not our abilities; they are abilities given to us for a purpose.
The Hexagram
The hexagram is made up of the trigrams Stillness below and Wisdom above. Stillness is the foundation of Wisdom. This is the picture of modesty.
The Archetype
There is a time...
- To embrace modesty.
- To meditate on the lesson of nature: God makes full that which is empty and empties that which is full.
- To reduce the extremes that cause social discontent.
- To understand that the nature of modesty doesn’t mean not doing great things, but not doing them to feed Ego.
- To remain modest despite a high position and thereby shine with wisdom.
Now is that time.
Moving Lines
Other interpretations of Archetype 15:
- Tom Christensen's interpretation [click here]
- Cafe Au Soul's interpretation [click here]
- LiSe's interpretation [click here]
- Richard Wilhelm's interpretation [click here]
Internal Links:
- Return to the Hexagram Index Table [click here].
- Return to Consulting the Christian I Ching [click here].
- Purchase a printed copy of Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching [click here].
- Learn about our Online Christian I Ching Workshop [click here].
- Find out about personal consultations [click here].
Reproduced with permission from Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching copyright (c) 2015 Roger Sessions.
A moving line in the second position teaches that when modesty is reflected in speech and behavior, God’s blessings follow. Then one can resist interference and have a lasting influence.