Category Archives: humility

God opposes the proud

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We are the greatest. We are the best. We are special. There is no one like us.

The world teaches us that self-aggrandizement is a good thing.

The Bible says otherwise.

But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’

While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’

That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.

After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.

His rule is everlasting,
and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
among the angels of heaven
and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
‘What do you mean by doing these things?’

When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud. (Daniel 4:28-37)

Intellectual humility

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There are basic principles of faith; foundational beliefs that I believe are non-negotiable. The existence of God, the incarnation, resurrection… these types of issues call for us to say, “This is what we believe.” I’ll admit that my understanding of the exact items on that list may change over time, but the existence of those items remains.

Outside of that list, I refuse to bind my beliefs on anyone else. I will work hard to reach solid conclusions, yet must always recognize the chance that I could be wrong. My conclusions on the interpretation of difficult biblical texts are my conclusions. I work hard to reach those conclusions, to make them as accurate as I can, but I must recognize the element of human fallibility in those conclusions. One thing is God’s Word; a totally different thing is my interpretation of that revelation.

In the same way, I have personal convictions that are exactly that: personal convictions. I can’t judge anyone by the standards I’ve set for myself. I believe that to be the teaching of Romans 14. I should have convictions and live by them. I shouldn’t use them to judge others.

Now a confession… one of the traits I most dislike is arrogance. I hate it when it crops up in me. And I react to it when I hear it from others. To be honest, when I hear someone say that their conclusion is the only possible conclusion, it makes me (1) tend to reject that conclusion; and (2) believe that the person is at an early stage in their understanding of the topic. If you think your way is the only way, then you haven’t begun to understand the issue. At least, that’s my belief.
:-)

So I put out a renewed call for intellectual humility. I want to see more of it in my own life. And I hope others will commit to the same. “I may be wrong…” is one of the most important things that I can say to myself. It never hurts to admit it to others, either.

Knowledge that puffs up

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proudI’ve shared with some friends a concern I have about attitudes I see in our churches. Worse, these are attitudes that I see in me.

On the one hand, there are areas in which I’ve become uncomfortable with traditional interpretations and longstanding traditions. I’ve come to see things in a different way. If I’m not comfortable, I communicate those things poorly, coming across as: “If you were truly enlightened, you would understand this issue as I do.”

In other areas, I play the exact opposite role. I grow frustrated with those who seem more interested in criticizing and rejecting than they are in actually evaluating the status quo. I look on in dismay as they seem to dismiss God’s Word in an attempt to conform to culture. On my worst days, I communicate the idea that I stand for truth while they are promoting heresy.

If I’m not careful, in each case I put the emphasis on knowledge, rather than on love. Which is something that is directly addressed in the New Testament:

“We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”

(1 Corinthians 8:1–2)

There is no need to stand idly by while the church drifts away from what is most pleasing to God. Nor is there an obligation to kowtow to legalism in order to please the overly sensitive. However, there is a great need for humility, for entering every discussion with the recognition that we may be mistaken in some way.

I had a roommate in college that I only shared a room with for one semester. One Sunday, the speaker at church made a reference to unwritten creeds. My roommate was reflecting on that idea later, and he said, “Our only creed is the Bible. When we need to know something, we consult it. We’re always going to find the same thing, but we consult it anyway.” And that last line states the problem well.

One of our teammates in Argentina described what he had found upon visiting his supporting church while home on furlough. They had a new preacher, a man who had been blessed to learn everything learnable during his 35-year lifetime. The man had written a book on biblical interpretation. My teammate asked him if there was any chance that he was wrong about anything in that book. When the man replied that there was no such chance, my teammate said, “Then there’s no point in our discussing the Bible.”

When we enter a discussion with our minds made up, then it can hardly be called a discussion. When we think that truth begins and ends with us, then we will spread division everywhere we go. When we value our knowledge above our love for others, then that knowledge will never equal truth.

I shared the following short prayer with those friends on Facebook:

Father, help me to value love over knowledge! And especially help me to love those who know more than I do.

photo by David Schauer on FreeImages.com

It’s hard not to be a jerk

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It’s hard not to be a jerk. Harder for some of us than others. We go through life, hopefully growing in knowledge and understanding. As we do, we want to enlighten others around us with our new insights. And we often do it in the wrong way.

It happens to people when they become Christians. Many overwhelm friends and families, expecting them to share the same enthusiasm for their new-found beliefs. It happens when people join multi-level marketing networks. Or when they find a diet that works for them.

It happens as our religious views change over time. We often look at others a bit condescendingly, expecting them to eventually arrive at the “better place” we find ourselves in. Or we study a certain view, reject it, then want to help those who accept it to see the error of their ways.

It can be done well. I’m not good at it. I’m better at being a jerk. I like playing with words and phrases, and I can use that in belittling ways. I’m trying to do better, but it’s a weakness of mine.

I’ll try harder. I want to share the things I’ve come to believe, convictions I’ve come to hold, while having enough humility to recognize that I could be mistaken. Along the way, sometimes I’ll be a jerk. But I’m trying not to be.

photo by Marijke Baan

Do you speak Greek?

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I was reminded again yesterday as to how we often think of speaking a foreign language in binary terms. That is, you speak Greek or you don’t. You know Russian or you don’t.

It’s funny that we do that, because any of us who have taken a year or two of a foreign language knows that language ability is a sliding scale, not a yes/no question. It’s not whether or not I speak German, but how well. Being able to say “Nein” doesn’t qualify me as a German speaker.

Years ago, the singing group Acappella wanted to bring out an album in Spanish. They got someone who “knows Spanish” to translate their songs. Unfortunately, this person apparently didn’t know enough to admit that they didn’t know enough, and the translations are abysmal. At least two of the songs have serious mistakes in the title, one of them containing a word which doesn’t even exist in Spanish! It’s really unfortunate, because the singers themselves did an excellent job with the pronunciation.

I guess the learning of just about anything is that way. Is there a subject where you can say that you have learned it completely? In terms of language, there are still nuances of English that surprise me, aspects of the grammar that native speakers regularly get wrong.

I should draw some deep philosophical point at this time, but I really don’t have one. For me personally, these things remind me that I need to learn humility. And I need to have the wisdom to not present myself as an expert when I’m not one.

Any thoughts?