Human, Humility, and Humor are all derived from the same common Indo-European root, ghôm, which means humus in English. This connection between Soil Organic Matter (SOM) and human well being has long been appreciated. A biblical scholar has suggested that God used fertile soil, which is adamah in Hebrew, to form the human creature and named him adam in order to make him humble. Despite our long appreciation for the importance of SOM in arable soils we have not yet developed a shared strategy for it's characterization and optimal management. This is in part a reflection of the fact that SOM, which is highly complex and heterogeneous in nature, performs multiple functions in soil. Current studies focus less on classical humic fractions, which are recovered by base extraction, because they have not proven to be particularly useful guides to adaptive management or contributed notably to our understanding of either SOM dynamics or soil quality. Fractionation strategies no longer put a premium on efficiently of recovery and instead seek to recover components of known function. Successful efforts will identify consistently defined and derived SOM fractions that are know to affect soil's productive capacity, its ability to transform and store matter and energy, and its capacity to regulate water and air movement. The application of SOM measures to improve soil management and function will be aided by efforts to standardize the methods used to recover components and articulate the criteria used to interpret results. The characteristics of individual SOM fractions can vary with the techniques used to isolate them and/or the experimental context. Experimentalists frequently exploit this sensitivity to method or soil type to optimize recovery of selected components or to support particular applications. This is not a problem when the rationale behind such choices is shared. In an effort to facilitate use of commonly studied SOM fractions, I have grouped them according to their typical kinetics and classified them with respect to their physical, chemical or biological function in soils. Organic matter of recent origin is most closely associated with biological activity in soils while materials of recent and intermediate age contribute notably to soil's physical status. Materials with longer-residence times typically comprise the largest reservoirs in soils and exert the greatest influence on the physico-chemical reactivity of soils. Many organic matter fractions, for example, amino acids, amino sugars and particulate organic matter (POM) fractions have mixed origin; this, as well as their physical status in soils, can result in these fractions performing more than one function. All three of the fractions noted above can provide insight into biologically-active, physically-active and passive SOM pools. Selected examples of SOM fraction isolation, assessment and application will be given to highlight advances in the field and encourage more widespread use of SOM measures to inform soil management.