On September 25, 2008, the largest bank failure in U.S. history occurred. I remember that day distinctly, because it was my husband Eric’s birthday…and because I was an employee of that 119-year-old bank. The turmoil had been brewing for a few years, and it all had come to a head. Despite the optimistic emails from our CEO saying a recovery was just around the corner, anyone who had glanced at a headline in the previous week knew that the inevitable had finally happened.
My employer, WaMu (Washington Mutual) was founded in 1889, in response to the Great Seattle Fire that had decimated the downtown core. The city elders of the day had gathered to help citizens by providing loans to rebuild the homes that had been destroyed. The company grew quickly over the years and became a titan. At one point, one in four American mortgages was a WaMu loan.
The bank that was founded on goodwill was destroyed by hubris. Award-winning journalist Kirsten Grind recounts in her book, The Lost Bank, the saga of CEO Kerry Killinger, who came from the Iowa suburbs and rose to prominence in the financial world. Mr. Killinger was admired as a sensible and modest man who always flew economy class and emphasized outstanding customer service, as his predecessor had done.
When the business world began its brazen embrace of the “greed is good” mentality in the 1990s and early 2000s, Mr. Killinger jumped on the bandwagon. After the predictable divorce from his high school sweetheart/wife and subsequent marriage to a jet setter, he began to build and buy mansions near swanky country clubs and avail himself of the corporate jet for personal trips. He pushed for the construction of the new headquarters, a 42-story skyscraper overlooking scenic Puget Sound. He became obsessed with comparing his net worth with that of other financiers.
Soon, his business strategy began to change. He removed long-trusted colleagues, who acted as a counterbalance to his ideas, with subordinates who wanted to win at any cost. To the alarm and dismay of many of his executives, he delved headfirst into risky subprime lending markets in order to make quick profits. He refused to acknowledge problems as the company began to crumble, blaming outside forces and taking no responsibility. At one investor meeting, as stock prices were tumbling, Mr. Killinger argued that he and his executives deserved their multi-million dollar bonuses for the good job they were doing.
Unfortunately, this story was being repeated with slight variations all over the nation. Besides WaMu, 464 other banks eventually failed between 2008 and 2012. (In the previous five years, only 10 bank failures had been reported.) From March 2008, when the first of the dominoes started to fall, to the following March, the U.S. alone lost $3.4 trillion in home values and $7.4 trillion in stocks. More than two and a half million jobs were lost. The unemployment rate soared to 10.2 % in October 2009, before finally beginning to decline.
Taxpayers footed the bill for the recovery. WaMu Inc., the holding company, and its insurers paid Mr. Killinger’s legal bills in a suit filed by the F.D.I.C., and the case was settled for less than 10% of $900 million regulators felt was owed.
I was retained for a few months after the sale of WaMu, and witnessed the devastation of Seattle’s small businesses as bank after bank collapsed. The little cafes, hair salons, gift shops, boutiques downtown were shuttered as mass layoffs left downtown streets empty.
A few years later, some of my WaMu colleagues and I, who meet on an occasional basis, discussed what had happened. We thought about how very different the world would have been if greed and pride had not been a factor in the financial meltdown. We marveled at how Mr. Killinger’s thirst for status and recognition and his refusal to heed his advisors had left such enormous destruction in its wake. As workers who were just one layer removed from customers, we knew intimately the heart-wrenching stories of numerous families who had suffered the stinging losses of jobs, health care, homes, retirement funds. We allowed ourselves to imagine, just for a moment, a world where humility, rather than vanity, was prized.
There is so much written in the scriptures about the rewards of humility and about how precious a humble heart is to God. Humility was a hallmark of Jesus’ time on earth. No doubt the exhortation of Paul in his letter to the Philippians is well known to us (chapter 2:3-8):
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus did not hesitate to mingle with people low on the social ladder, such as Zacchaeus. He unfailingly returned any accolades granted to him back to God the Father. Despite his consistent attitude of humility, it did not seem to rub off on his disciples at the time. Late in Jesus’ ministry he finds them arguing about who among them was greatest. In this teaching moment, Jesus reiterates the attitude of servanthood that God desires.
Luke 22:25-27
The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Humility must not be confused with self-abasement. Rather, it is an acceptance of the appropriate role we play in relation to God and man. Jesus was equally confident using his authority to drive out the corrupt money changers from the temple as he was washing the disciples’ feet. The point is, he was completely obedient to the tasks given to him by God, regardless of how others would perceive him.
For us, it is arrogant to pretend that our accomplishments are due only to our own efforts. There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. In our modern world, those who contribute to our success are too numerous to count. Someone fed us and clothed us until we were able to fend for ourselves. Someone taught us to read and master the skills we use to earn a living. Someone made the thousands of materials that go into building our houses. Thousands of inventors and manufacturers create the thousands of products we use every day, from our cell phones to our sneakers. We rely on people to manage the traffic lights that provide the order necessary for us to drive to the grocery store. If we think about it, our dependence on others is mind boggling. Do we take the time to appreciate and respect those who add so much to our lives?
Even more importantly, do we sufficiently appreciate God’s blessings in our lives? It is he who grants us opportunities and even provides the checks and balances we need to avoid destruction. If we see our role as servants of God as Jesus did, surely a mindset of humility is less of a stretch.
God is generous in his rewards to those who seek humility. Consider the following verses:
- Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.(Proverbs 22:4)
- God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. (James 4:6)
- When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)
- If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
I don’t pretend to see into Mr. Killinger’s heart, and I am not his judge; but I suspect his path of destruction began when he took his eyes off serving his faithful customers and employees and fixed them enviously on his peers who lived a lavish and self-serving lifestyle. Perhaps if he’d maintained some of his humility, he and others would have been able to avoid such epic pitfalls. I contemplate his actions with sadness, because I believe he had some goodness in his heart. It is so important for us to be more desirous of God’s approval than those of society’s elite, lest we be led astray as Mr. Killinger was.
In modern society, which rewards self-promotion on a grand scale, it is counterintuitive to model humility. However, there is no doubt doing so will enrich our lives in ways we cannot imagine.
May God grant us the ability to focus on gaining his approval above the approval of all others.
Nina Kylstra. Member of the LifeWay body of Christ for 22 years. Wife of the lovable Eric Kylstra for 30 years. Life-long follower of Christ.