Understanding Who We Are

I’ll never forget a meeting I had at my house with some seminary students. One student asked me, very seriously, “John, how did you finally overcome pride?” I said jokingly, “Well, it was two years ago when I finally licked it, and it’s never been a problem since then. It’s so wonderful to be constantly humble.” Of course, I have not completely overcome pride; it’s a battle I face every day. Satan makes sure we always struggle with it.

Overcoming pride in even one area is difficult, but Ephesians 4:2 requires “all humility.” Having some humility isn’t enough. We must have total, complete humility in every relationship, every attitude, and every act.

So we all have a lot of work to do. But where do we start? How can we become humble?

Humility begins with self-awareness. We need to look at ourselves honestly. We can mask who we really are and convince ourselves that we’re something wonderful. But we are sinners and need to confess our sins daily before God (cf. 1 John 1:9). Even Paul called himself the foremost of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and realized he had not yet reached the goal of Christlikeness (Phil. 3:12-14). Whenever you’re tempted to be proud, remember you haven’t arrived yet spiritually.

And don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others. Paul said, “We are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” (2 Cor. 10:12). If we’re to be honest with ourselves and with God, we need to evaluate ourselves by an outside standard—God’s standard. Humility starts when we take off the rose-colored glasses of self-love so we can see ourselves as unworthy sinners. We must recognize our faults and confess our sins daily.

Confess any known sins to God, and ask for help in overcoming them. Ask God to keep you from comparing yourself to others instead of to His perfect standard. For Further Study

Many consider Paul to be the greatest Christian who ever lived, but he viewed himself very differently. Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17. How did he see himself? As he saw his sinfulness, what was his response to God?

I was raised with that unfettered sharpened teenage gone adult rage.

The roofs of my past cars acquired dimples.

It has taken 30 years to silence the beast.

I know how and why, and am quite familiar with my other faults, and no, I am not humble.

However, before I met my beloved, the lessons were hard to grasp.

I am a work in progress, and recognize that.

Humility starts when we take off the rose-colored glasses of self-love so we can see ourselves as unworthy sinners. We must recognize our faults and confess our sins daily.

There is no shortage of people in this world who are expert in reminding us. Got a little too much oxygen in the room? Here, they say, let me suck that out for you.

Jesus was sure right about the dead leaven. Meanwhile, true love approaches us just as we are and lifts our spirits in hope, making us feel worthy enough to get out of bed every day. More than that, it makes the unworthy nobodies feel like somebodies - loved anyway 'just because', therefore desiring to improve and being receptive to genuine loving guidance and correction.

The constant drumbeat of how bad, ugly, worthless, unworthy, flawed, sinful, depraved, and utterly despicable we are is going to stop. It's a demoralization campaign masquerading as righteous exhortation for character improvement. Only it is never enough. Ever. The correction never ends. We can never satisfy the demands of the people who are always ready and willing to find fault and guilt and shame us into measuring up to their perfect standard. Rinse and repeat until we die.

Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

The Messiah comes to redeem us from that horrid, awful mess. He is full of loving kindness and compassion. He knows how to listen in love, and knows how to speak to hearts of stone and crushed spirits to soften them up, not whack them with a stick. He's got a completely different approach than the perpetual finger-waggers. For those folks, though, a rod of iron will be the only way to get their attention. Not like that isn't in the texts as well.

Goes a long way in explaining why the Messiah won't be accepted or even recognized by the establishment and those who embrace its methods.

Until one realizes their true state before God, one cannot see their need for Him.

Once we’re saved, then we have the worth that God gives us and we can no longer make those claims about ourselves, but still, we need to realize that in our flesh dwells no good thing.

It’s only the new spiritual nature given to us by God that is worthy of anything and is the source of Good within us.

When people taste the living bread proofed with live leaven (not the rock hard dead stuff that is currently marketed), it's Game Over for the worthless bakers.

The Messiah threatens their livelihood because when customers realize that they've been given stone for bread, they never go back. The true Messiah, therefore, is really bad for business.

So far the business of religion is feeling pretty secure, no competition that it can see. That's what the political Establishment thought..

Mankind’s basic flaw became monstrous the day the mirror, not the looking glass, was devised.

Mankind cannot come to grips that “we ain’t all that”, no matter which shade our skin pigment wears.

Mirrors reflect reality to the viewer.

Looking glasses are said to react to other realms, the unseen reality.

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