When someone writes or speaks of humility it may appear they must be lacking it. And yes, I do struggle with pride and have too little humility. But I also think humility is worth talking about.
So at the risk of sounding proud, here is a post in praise of humility and warning against pride. I certainly need it. Maybe someone reading this needs it too. What does God the Creator say about humility and pride? What he says matters because he's God. Part of humility is acknowledging that the word of God is true and final. It only makes sense that the Creator knows better than the people he created. Romans 9:20 "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Of course that is one of the huge challenges of our day - creatures denying the Creator's truth and design for them. There really couldn't be a much more accurate name for this than pride. For any who embrace pride as an identity or a mantra or a cause to be celebrated or a way to show love, believe it or not, I want to show you love. The love I want to show may not be the kind of love you wish for. But it is genuine love. I want you to know what is true. It is not love to affirm a lie or to encourage someone to continue in a way that leads to misery and ultimately death. Here's the danger. Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." When in our pride we do what seems best to us instead of what God says, we go astray and are headed for death. That's why I truly believe the real expression of love is to tell the Creator's truth, not to affirm what one of his beautiful creatures feels or believes to be true. So what does the Creator God say about humility and pride? Humility is a virtue to be pursued and cultivated, while pride is an evil to be avoided and abandoned. Humility is found in the way that leads to life. Pride is the path to death. The humble person is willing to listen, while the proud delights in airing his opinion. The proud cares more about what they think and feel than of what God says.
We live in a time and place and among a people where humility is desperately needed. Psalm 18:27 "For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down." I pray we will be humble to receive God's truth and not reject it. May it begin with me. And I would love to have a conversation about it with you.
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There's a problem with this before it even gets started. I want to run something by folks who have a bit of standing and notoriety in the Evangelical Christian world. What's the problem? I don't really know anyone like that, so they'll never see this. I guess I'm just putting it in the wind, and maybe some lesser known folks might find some benefit.
What's so important that it merits a post whose target audience will never see it? I would like to encourage or maybe humbly challenge or just remind those with a little evangelical clout that what they say/post/publish does not affect just them. Of course, this is obvious. Isn't that what comes with having a platform? More people hear you; more followers appreciate what you say; more folks disagree. You get to deal with the accolades and the acrimony. But there is another sort of effect that you will never have to deal with, but I will. I'm thinking of the impact of what you say on thousands of small churches in thousands of small towns and cities across the country. You write something with the potential to be controversial, and all of a sudden Paul in the pew wants to know what his pastor thinks about the latest kerfuffle you stirred up. And now the pastor of First Church of Nowheresville who had nothing to do with the kerfuffle and, in his small ministry, had little or no reason to address it, now has to address it. He didn't write the post. He didn't stir up the controversy. You did. But now he has to deal with it. And maybe you just opened up a potential rift in that church that would not be there without your post. It's not hard, for example, to think of examples of big evangelical leaders dropping diametrically opposed dogmatic statements about a given issue. And people in the pews of that little church who were previously fairly content to keep their opinion to themselves are now validated by a well-known preacher. And now they are slightly less content with or perhaps a little more hostile toward their own lesser-known pastor (or fellow congregants) whose take is different than theirs. What's the point? With great platform comes great responsibility (or something like that). You have a stewardship of being known. Sometimes hard things need to be said by a voice that will be heard by many. Sometimes controversial things need to be published from a broader platform. But sometimes they don't. Some of the challenge of your stewardship is knowing when and what to say and when and what NOT to say. So this is a simple plea. Before you click publish, consider what difficulties your words might cause. Not only online or in your own bigger congregation (think about that too, of course!). But think also of the impact and challenges and division your words might create that you will never have to see or deal with. The small town pastor of the small church in that town thanks you. *Tap, tap, tap* Hello? Looks like the blog feature of the website does still work. How 'bout that?
Not many mornings ago, I was feeling a sense of, well, I'm not sure what exactly: a combination of guilt, being overwhelmed, wondering what I could (or should) do about some pretty ugly and sad things happening in our world. As many of you have, I'd seen some horrific news coming out of Afghanistan. At a humanitarian level what is or will be happening to Afghans, US citizens remaining there, allies of the US, Christians, women, and others who find themselves on the wrong side of the Taliban's naughty/nice ledger is appalling. The pandemic is still a thing with all of it's attendant suffering. An earthquake in Haiti had left hundreds dead and thousands more homeless and fearful. On top of these global things, a local acquaintance recently had to leave their home because it had become a physically toxic, uninhabitable place to live. His words in a text: "We are in bad shape here & struggling to hang on." As I sat in my comfortable chair, in my air-conditioned home, bills paid, free to worship according to my faith and conscience, and relatively healthy, I had the feeling I mention above: overwhelmed, guilty, wondering what I could/should do. I suspect I may not be the only one feeling something similar (if not now, then perhaps under other circumstances you've faced). Here are some principles I think we can bring to bear at times like these. I'll divide them into two categories seeking to alleviate false guilt but keeping us on the hook where we should be. Avoid false guilt
Don't avoid showing genuine, tangible compassion
This is clearly not an exhaustive list. Just some thoughts. Feel free to add yours in the comments here or on social media. The goal is not to leave us feeling neat, tidy, and unmoved by suffering. I hope we deeply sympathize with those who suffer. Then we want to funnel that sympathy into proper compassionate action without feeling needlessly guilty. If you're doing nothing, there's a problem. If you're overwhelmed with guilt about things beyond your control, there's a problem. As with so many things we need balance. God help us. It's something you've probably heard almost since the pandemic began. "Can't wait until things are back to normal!" And as the time frame for the return to normalcy stretched from weeks to months now to a year, the desire and even desperation for normal has only grown. I get it. I can't wait either. I'm ready for masks to return to the domain of superheroes and kids who dress up like them. I wish that social distancing only referred to taking a step back from someone who has a different conception of personal space than you.
But should everything go back to normal, to the way it was before? Maybe it would be good if a few things stayed the same.
Back to normal? Hopefully not in every way. What would you add to the list? What to do when you or a loved one is sick: 7 Lessons from the sickness and death of Lazarus10/6/2020 I preached this as a sermon a little over a month ago. True story. It may sound like I went all self-help and felt-needs, but I think if you give John 11:1-16 a read and listen to the sermon that it holds up.
So here's a summary for those facing illness. These things can be helpful for major illness, minor, Covid-19, or something else. For the full take and context you can listen to the sermon here. Or look here for the message on John 11:1-16. From the sickness and death of Lazarus: 7 things to do when you or a loved one is sick.
Earlier today I posted on facebook and tweeted this: "Let's give grace today, friends." I want to unpack that a bit.
Greg Holladay - June 8, 2020
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When I quote Scripture In this blog, unless otherwise indicated, the quotations are usually from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission.
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