The Prophet's wife Ayisha once referred to a woman as dwarf.  At this, the Prophet replied: "You have said something which if thrown into the ocean will pollute it entirely."

Ayisha had only said: "O, that dwarf woman!" To humiliate a person, degrade him, or consider him less in importance is a very serious matter indeed.

The Companions would never do this. They had respect for every person, irrespective of whether the person was wealthy, of less height, and so on. Every human being was worthy of respect in their eyes. The Prophet said that referring to people in a derogatory way was so displeasing to God that if such a statement was put in the ocean, it would pollute it completely.

From this we can understand that it is very important for a person to not live in himself, but rather live for the sake of a higher mission. A person must not live in self-glory, but in the glory of God. He must mould his way of thinking according to the will of God and the Prophet.