Abusing the Language

I know, I know, I write a lot about abusing the language. This one, however, will be a little different. This one is only mildly about language.

Someone told me recently, "You should come across more humble." They went on to tell me that being more humble will make you look less arrogant. (I think we all can see that, right?)

I was baffled by this. I know it's not right to assume intent that isn't there, but it's also important to understand what was being conveyed. The natural understanding of the exhortation, then, would go something like, "You should be more humble ... like me." Now, that kind of line is more of a punchline to me. Everyone sees the idiocy of the statement. I've used it myself in jokes. "I wrote a book; Humility and How I Achieved It." Ha, ha. "I used to be arrogant, but now I'm perfect." Ha, ha. So my mind screams, "No! That cannot be what was intended." Then what? The person was disagreeing with something I had said. Clearly, if I was more humble, I wouldn't have said it. That's surely part of their intent. But if they did not intend to convey, "I'm right in this and you're not," then I don't know the point. And that's simply my claim on my side. My reason for what I said was "This is what Scripture says and this is how it has been understood since the beginning of time." That, I suppose, is arrogant? Or, no ... it comes across as arrogant? I can't see how. I didn't say it. It's Scripture and history, neither of which belong to me. Which comes across as more arrogant, then -- "This is what the Bible says and this is how everyone who believed the Bible prior to the 21st century understood it" or "All those people for all time were wrong and the Bible cannot mean what it might appear to clearly say"?

So, intended or not, "You should be more humble, like me" is what was conveyed. And that is an abuse of the language in the sense that "humble" doesn't work like that. So I remain baffled. I should be careful, however. That kind of arrogance can sneak into anyone's thinking. I'll have to be careful to guard mine.