I cringed a bit after re-reading my last entry a few days ago because I realized that my closing statements might sound like an assault on large churches with advanced technology systems and pastors who write books and appear on talk shows. And perhaps, to a certain extent, it was. But its easy and all-too-common for small folks (like me) in small churches (like mine) to criticize big folks in big churches without contributing anything beneficial to the “conversation.”
I like to root for the underdog (like my pastor friend) and point out the flaws and shortcomings of the “winners,” maybe because it makes me feel better about myself. It’s tempting to try and justify my own “nothingness” by cutting down the folks who seem to be “something.” And one hidden danger of exploring and writing about the concept of “humility” (as I am in this blog) is that it would be easy to use the topic as a bludgeon for striking out at those who, unlike myself, ARE in a position of visibility and notoriety. A person standing alone on a pedestal makes for an easy target.
How quickly I can jump to conclusions about the man or woman in a high position. How naturally I can form assumptions regarding their REAL motives or their TRUE spiritual condition. How satisfying it is to imagine that their fame or their success is actually very worldly and counts for nothing in the eyes of God. But what do I reveal about myself as this thought process unfolds? It seems to me that such a response to the elevation of others points to an inner longing for this same kind of recognition and a corresponding bitterness at my own lack thereof. And that reeks with the pungent aroma of pride.
Is the pastor friend that I mentioned in my last entry a BETTER example of lowly living than a big-name big-church pastor with a slew of books on the market? I’d like to think so, but such a conclusion would be rooted in nothing but shallow observation. My desire to even the score and bring others down to my own level is an evidence of pride in my life. And my quickness to cast judgment on others who succeed should make me question how well I am walking the lowly kingdom way.
2 comments:
The thing is.........none of us can really judge another man's heart, attitudes, and motives. We can look at a person's fruit, we can make assumptions about their ministry, humility, pride, etc. But.....no man knows the true heart of an individual. Only God knows that and I guess we would do best to leave those judgments up to him.
I know a man slept with many women, committed adultery a time or two, and even plotted the murder of one of his misstress' husband in order to have her as his wife. By outward appearences this man could be judged as not being too humble and not being a follower of God. But God said.......David was a man after God's own heart. Crazy? Maybe. He certainly wouldn't make a deacon or an elder in our churches today, would he? Perhaps that is where we have screwed up a bit. Too much emphasis on judging and not enough emphasis on seeing people through God's eyes of grace.
Thanks, Dave, for advancing this idea in a helpful way. I find myself easily caught up in judging others, and this can often serve as a barometer for the level of pride in my life. The more judgmental I am, the more obvious it is that I have allowed pride to have its way in me. The stronger the presence of humility, the more capable I will be of viewing others through eyes of grace.
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