Humility is one of the most talked about ‘character words’ in our Christian subculture, and rightfully so. In Philippians 2, the apostle Paul describes the incredible humility Jesus displayed though His incarnation and death. We should, according to him, interact with each other in the same way.

But what exactly does it mean to be humble?

It seems to me that we often elevate a certain type of self-effacement in the name of avoiding vanity; we sometimes even call it humility. But it’s a false type of it – and one that does little to solve the root problems associated with a lack of humility, specifically pride. Humility is a deeply rooted heart condition – as is pride -- that originates in our beliefs about God, the universe, and our place in the big scope of things. It can be developed but not manufactured, cultivated but not rushed, grasped but not attained. In the end, the best way to grow in humility is to stop looking at ourselves and wondering how we could become more humble and instead fix our eyes on the King, His story, and His greatness.

Using the life of Moses, I’d like to address three common myths concerning humility:

Myth #1: Believing or admitting that you are called or gifted in a specific way is prideful

If you are called to something or gifted at something, people will sometimes see it and let you know. Receiving this complement with a cheerful heart does not mean you are prideful. I don’t even believe it’s prideful to admit that you are gifted in specific ways. For instance, I wouldn’t say it’s prideful for Lebron to admit he is gifted with a basketball, or Thoreau with a pen, or Brad Paisley with a guitar. Pride is evident in us though when we begin confessing our giftedness apart from The Giver of such gifts (here’s looking at you, Kanye). Yet talented people often deny and even suppress the gift within them in the name of ‘humility’ – an act that is possibly just as insulting to the Gift Giver as the aforementioned.

When Moses stands before God with a staff in his hand, he is holding an extraordinarily powerful tool – He just doesn’t know it yet. That’s because the staff only had its power because God decided to use it. I don’t doubt that Moses was a pretty good shepherd (he spent over 40 years doing it) – and I bet He was actually pretty handy with his staff. But God wanted to take that thing Moses had spent years learning and understanding and do something beyond his most wild imagination with it. God too might ask us, “what is in your hand” – and then proceed to use it for His purpose. When we submit those things in our hand to His purpose, He will do immeasurably more than we could conceive with them. And humility will grow in us as we continue to see Him use the gifts He gave us for His glory.

Myth #2: Timidity and insecurity are signs of humility; Boldness and confidence are signs of conceit

Timidity and insecurity are often associated with humility. And boldness and confidence are often associated with conceit. But these personality types really have little to do with whether or not someone is humble. In reality, the most quiet and reserved person in the world could be completely adverse to admitting their own faults, while the bold and confident person could be extraordinarily open to learning, growing, and saying sorry. And vice versa.

The truth is that while Moses was extremely timid and insecure when he first started, he led the people of Israel with boldness and confidence. This is because he was so in tune with the directions God had given him that he felt completely confident in carrying them out. I am absolutely sure that he was held in contempt for His boldness on more than one occasion by the people. Jesus was likewise. With that being said, people who are bold and confident can absolutely be arrogant and egotistical. We have all experienced this. So, how do we tell the difference? I don’t know. I just know that these categories are built in our minds for the sake of our being able to judge other people’s humility – and in the process tend to build pride in ourselves as we place people in the category opposite of us.

Myth #3: It is self-defeating to confess your own humility

In Numbers 12:3, Moses claims to be the most humble man on the face of the earth. This is one of the more amusing phrases in scripture. Of course, many commentators have tried to explain the irony away by saying the phrase was added later by others, but I don’t see the need for such a justification. Let’s recount Moses’ happenings. He is commissioned by God to leave his shepherding job to go deliver all the Hebrew slaves from a country in which he was a fugitive. He did nothing to see this task through except willingly submit to everything God told him to do. He watched as God did breathtaking and science-bending things through his obedience. Then he spent considerable amounts of time in God’s actual presence on top of Mount Sinai, saw God’s backside, and had significant dialogue with Him. How would Moses not be the most humble man on earth and know it full well? In fact, who on earth could communicate how insignificant and small Moses’ really understood himself to be than himself?

We consider it ironic when someone confesses their own humility – but isn’t that just an admission that they have come to understand how small and insignificant they really are? Honestly, it is kind of strange and ironic that we would think someone is bragging when they confess their own humility. Are we all competing for the award of feeling the most insignificant in the grand scheme of things?

Concluding Thoughts

At the end of the day, it is very difficult to discern the heart conditions of others. True humility really has nothing to do with being quiet or loud, fervent or apprehensive, confident or insecure, driven or mellow. It has everything to do with understanding that this is God’s story and that whatever part we play is only important in view of the main character, God Himself. Humility will come as we spend more and more time in God’s presence. One thing is clear: to have the mind of Christ is to consider others as better than ourselves, to willingly lay our lives down for the sake of others and the gospel, and to take the form of a servant no matter what the circumstances might allow.

Sweet tea is the ideal drink for truth telling

 “In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
― George Orwell

Recently I said of a politician I saw on TV, “wow, he looks tired and old”. A wiser man sitting nearby responded by saying, “it’s exhausting to carry around all those lies”. I was taken by that profound observation for days. And in the midst of wondering why politicians practice duplicity as a primary strategy for getting ahead, I started wondering why we all do the same thing.

 

Political debates, job interviews, social gatherings, and first dates are the same: those who know how to say the right words, wear the right clothes, align themselves with the right networks, and play the right angles often get ahead. In the end, putting on a good face is a rewarding venture. So, if we’re not careful, we can spend our lives competing for the votes of our ‘constituents’ by saying whatever they want to hear and trying to be whoever they wish we were.

This presents a big problem down the road that we have seen arise over and over again. When we choose people whose primary gift is knowing how to play ‘the game’ well, we end up with people in positions that should have never been there in the first place – whether in terms of character or competence. We often fall in love with the best actors, place them in the most prominent positions, and then act surprised when they fail to live up to the standard they set for themselves. People are always flawed, so it should always raise a red flag when you see someone trying hard to market themselves as someone who is not. This is why political races at the highest level are destined to get us a person in office that probably shouldn’t be there. In the end, no one truly wins in the game of politics.  

We’re not all politicians, but we have all been tempted to suppress our true positions in order to gain the approval of the people listening to us. In fact, it’s uncommon to find someone that truly calls it like they see it. And while most people I know would much rather hear someone speak with a raw and unrefined authenticity than with a set of polished talking points, we all struggle to be those people. I love it when I meet those people though, because you never have to wonder if there is something they are hiding or leaving out or why they might be. There are all sorts of things behind a mask that are being intentionally covered up – either out of fear, insecurity, shame, or strategy – and it’s nearly impossible to figure out which thing it is.

Adversely, people who speak with candor aren’t concerned with managing people’s perception. Their honest thoughts might not necessarily be ‘truth’, but their candor provides a much quicker and less patronizing way of getting to it than the person with the talking points. Candor puts everyone on the same level playing field, but it is not easy to do. As Dostoyevsky said, “nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery”. So, it’s difficult to find an atmosphere where speaking the truth is normal… or even socially acceptable. It’s almost as if we believe posturing to be a necessary part of society. People have actually advised me that as I get older, I will understand why candor and honesty aren’t always the best idea. This thought process was explained well by the 18^th century English writer Samuel Johnson, “The young man, who intends no ill, believes that none is intended, and therefore acts with openness and candor: but his father, having suffered the injuries of fraud, is impelled to suspect, and too often allured to practice it.” Thus, deception and fraud act like defense systems that protect us from getting hurt. But relationships predicated on the safety of one or both of the people involved will always remain on the surface. The absence of candor is in itself an indictment on any relationship.

It is a primary strategy of every great authoritarian regime to remove the opportunity for candor and the mediums through which it can be communicated. This has happened in business and government, home and church. But why? Because truth is powerful. It connects with people in a way that deception and pretense never will. People long for it and they know it when they see it; they’ll grab a hold of it and then will lay down their life for it. Truth is the enemy of oppression and complacency. It always brings hope. We should fight for it, first and foremost, in the way we speak and interact with others. So, how often do you tell the truth?

“Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that truth is subversive, that candor is dangerous, that the very scaffold of communal life is supported by lies.” -Anne Rice

I’d like to address a cultural issue that I believe the church is typically nervous about addressing. You know me... I'm not. And I’m willing to bet it’s a cultural issue that affects almost every single one of us. Should Christians celebrate the holiday known as Halloween and all the trappings that surround it? FYI, I believe Beggars night can serve as a good opportunity to meet your neighbors and be the light of Christ in your community - and yes, my daughters will be wearing Disney princess dresses.

Let’s start by seeking to firmly understand the origins of Halloween. The Celtic people who lived in the land that is now Ireland, Great Britain, and France, had a festival on October 31^st every year called “Samhain”. It was the end of their calendar year, so it was something like our celebration of New Years Eve. The day marked the end of the summer and beginning of the winter (which symbolized darkness, cold, and death). Some said it was the end of the “lighter half” of the year and the beginning of the “darker half”. November 1^st was called 'The Day of Death'. They believed something very strange and otherworldly happened on the eve of that day: the dead would walk among the living. It was a night full of divination and fortune telling. They believed that everyone who had died during that year would rise up from their grave on that night and move to the underworld and people who had already passed into the underworld could freely come back. As one writer says, the gates between the worlds were wide open and the veil of separation between the two worlds was very thin. This is where the idea of ghosts on Halloween came from. The Celtic people believed that in order to ward off the evil spirits, they should dress up in appalling costumes to convince the spirits that they were spirits too. They would light big bonfires and sacrifice a share of their crops to the gods. In many other cultures similar festivals were held – some were even called “the festival of the dead”. Halloween is also New Years Eve for those who practice Wicca (pagan witchcraft) – a night when communication with the dead is said to be easiest. When Christianity spread throughout Europe, one of the church's strategies was to take pagan traditions and infuse Christian concepts into them. So, they adopted the name “All Hallows Eve” (later shortened to “Hallowe-en”) and changed the date of their 'Celebration of the Saints' from April 20^th to November 1^st. For some strange reason, trying to fuse a pagan festival together with a godly celebration didn’t work… and while the name changed, the focus of the night continued to be death and supernatural phenomenon.

Halloween didn’t exist in America at first, but came into existence in the 1800's when immigrants from Ireland and Scotland introduced their Halloween customs. They brought various beliefs about ghosts and witches with them. Other groups added their own cultural influences to Halloween customs: German immigrants brought a vivid witchcraft lore, while Haitian and African peoples brought their native voodoo beliefs about black cats, fire, and witchcraft. All of this combined to create a day of celebration that doesn't have any root in the Jesus movement.

Fast forward to the year 2013 and we still see the ancient traditions abounding. We’ve taken the liberty of adding in the element of terror with haunted houses, haunted trails, and scary movies. Just watch your TV for a few minutes or go to the Redbox and see the latest in a long line of horror films descending from the original terror movie from 1978 called (you guessed it) “Halloween”. And many followers of Jesus have jumped on the bandwagon – we've made a habit of supporting these things. But let me ask you this follower of Jesus: what is it about the celebration of evil things that so resonates with the Holy Spirit inside you? What is it about a serial killer with a chain saw that reinforces the good news of the Kingdom of God? What is pure about vampires (the drinking of blood and distortion of sexual acts)? How can you sit through a movie that glorifies demonic activity terrorizing a family without the Holy Spirit compelling you to leave?

Maybe you’ve misinterpreted something deep inside yourself. You say, “I like the sensation of fear”. But let me suggest that fear is a response intended only for God – what you feel is “terror”. That feeling you get when you’re in that haunted house or watching that scary movie is not fear at all – it’s actually the thing God put inside you in order to help you know when a situation is deeply wrong – it’s supposed to make you leave, not make you stay. Have we come to believe that God was kidding when he told the Israelites that anyone who practices fortune-telling or sorcery, or interprets omens, or engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord? Why would he give them those instructions? Well, because these things are real. Johanna Michaleson, former occultist and author of The Beautiful Side of Evil said, “For a true Christian to participate in the ancient trappings of Halloween is as incongruous as for a committed Satanist coming from blood sacrifices on Christmas Eve to set up a nativity scene in his living room singing Silent Night, Holy Night with sincere devotion to baby Jesus!”

In 2 Corinthians 6 Paul asks, “what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? What communion does light have with darkness?” Ephesians 5:7-12 says, “Don't participate in the things these people do. For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them.”

Should you take your children trick or treating? What about dressing up in costumes and going to parties? What's up with carving a pumpkin (this tradition comes from remembering the fallen saints)? I think each follower of Jesus should use their own discernment on these matters. But I will not be silent when it comes to the glorification of witchcraft, ghosts, demons, and so on – these things are God’s opponents and should have zero place in the lives of people who are chasing after Jesus and living according to his mission. My fear is that these things have become so commonplace among us, that we don't even realize just how opposed they are to our God. Jesus came to destroy the work of Satan, death, and everything evil– it was so important to His mission that He gave up His life. What does it say about us then if we make light of and even participate in the celebration of those things? Do we really believe Satan doesn't relish the opportunity to be present among us when we invite him to be? There is no better way for Satan to render the church ineffective than by duping them into thinking that the things he stands for are no big deal.

The bible states emphatically, in its very first sentence, that the world was designed and created by God. Christians stand insistently behind this claim, as nothing could be more foundational than the truth that God created this beautiful universe we live in.

I have always strongly stood against theories that propose a purely physical cosmology. But have I always stood for creation? I have started to question whether things like recycling, nature conservation, specie preservation, pollution, deforestation, renewable resources, etc. have anything to do with my spirituality.

The American church is largely devoid of discussion surrounding environmental ethics – in fact, in some Christian environments these are seen as part of a certain ‘political agenda’ and therefore cast aside. While the government’s involvement in the enforcement of such ethics is a political issue, the idea of being good stewards of this earth is actually a spiritual one. Until a couple of years ago, I had always felt like they had nothing to do with my pursuit of Jesus, but I have become increasingly convicted that how we steward our planet is directly tied to our belief in the Creation.

Our country has many people who devote incredible amounts of time and energy to caring for God’s beautiful earth – and we have often treated it as nonsense instead of partnering with them in their good work. Mark Driscoll famously said this: “I know who made the environment and he’s coming back and going to burn it all up. So yes, I drive an SUV.”  Maybe some of you agree with this? Besides the distasteful heart behind the comment, I think it’s a very dangerous and unbiblical belief. It just doesn’t jive with the stewardship role God conferred upon humans in Genesis 2. And it doesn’t jive with the heart of God Himself, which is deeply restorative.

I ask, “Shouldn’t we be the best caretakers of our God’s earth”? I believe this is another area where we should be leading the charge – and the fact that we aren’t speaks loudly to those we stand against about how deeply we believe in the Creation story. Is the earth not an incredible gift/resource/home that we should spend time restoring, cultivating, protecting, and sustaining?

So, what do you think? Is our environmental ethic tied to our pursuit of Jesus?

Perhaps the biggest deception the western church has perpetuated is the idea that becoming a follower of Jesus is a one-time decision that may or may not affect anything else about your life. In reality, the invitation Jesus gives to those who are considering it requires a life-long commitment towards attaining a more profound intimacy. Below are five mind-shifts I think we need to make when we talk about discipleship, salvation, confession, etc.

Myth #1 // You can be a Christian without being a radical disciple

SHIFT: Radical discipleship is assumed by Jesus every time

There is never a half way moment with Jesus. He was always creating forks in the road for people who were ready to follow him to determine whether or not they were willing to give up everything to do so. If you remove radical discipleship from the equation, what you have is something that looks very different than the thing Jesus invites us into.

Myth #2 // Becoming a disciple is an event that happens

SHIFT: Becoming a disciple is a journey that begins

‘Salvation’ is possibly the most misunderstood idea in western Christianity. We have suggested to people that closing your eyes, bowing your head, and saying a prayer causes immediate transformation; the more biblical idea is that your journey toward holistic transformation begins in the moment you decide to follow Jesus.

Myth #3 // We invite Jesus to go with us wherever we go

SHIFT: Jesus invites us to follow Him wherever He goes

I’ve been using this language for a while now because I think it is one of the most destructive ideas we’ve taught. We have many common phrases to blame like ‘ask Jesus into your heart’, ‘make Jesus Lord’ or ‘invite Him into your life’. Inviting Jesus to sit in the cockpit with you is much different than letting Him decide whether or not to even get on the plane.

Myth #4 // Spiritual Formation is linear like a college degree program

SHIFT: Spiritual Formation is experiential like a marriage

Lindsay and I have been together for 12 years and I have grown in intimacy with her exponentially over those years. I know her much better than I did all those years ago. Even though I told her I loved her back then, I love her on such a more profound level now. We didn’t follow any specific intimacy strategy – we just lived life together. This is what spiritual formation looks like.

Myth #5 // External action demonstrates forward progress

SHIFT: Internal unrest partnered with external action demonstrates forward progress

It is possible to judge ourselves and other people based on how much external kingdom action we are taking. Generally speaking, if a person is attending worship services, serving, active in a small group, tithing, and living a moral life we tend to think of them as spiritually healthy. But you can actually do all of those things without having a heart submitted to Jesus, responsive to His Spirit. A more biblical measurement is to discern whether or not the Holy Spirit is disrupting our internal mechanisms like selfishness, pride, greed, rage, lust, and so on. Is the Holy Spirit producing His fruit in us? Or are we trying to manufacture it so that we can feel and appear spiritually healthy.

 

 

“The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-          John F Kennedy

We are a people dominated by old adages – familial, political, social, and theological. Everywhere we turn someone has come up with a way to summarize a common belief into a simple, reproducible phrase; but in doing so have missed the profound essence of truth itself. One of the great western lies is that truth can be captured, set in a box, and delivered to the masses. Truth, in fact, only takes root and explodes into life once it cuts through our calloused hearts – callouses formed by the cliché based belief systems we’ve inadvertently subscribed to over the years . This is especially dangerous since adages take up residence right beneath the surface, preventing us from digging into the real truth that lies beyond.

Here are some common clichés that I think we should either discard or begin using with more discretion.

GOD IS IN CONTROL / EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON / GOD HAS A PLAN / ITS ALL IN GOD’S TIMING

God holds the authoritative place in the universe -- but that does not mean everything that happens is His will. All of these phrases exist to say the same thing: God has a purpose behind whatever it is you are currently experiencing. It's always easy to look back and see how God worked through whatever it was you experienced, but He works in all things for the good of those who love Him. This does not mean He caused those things -- it just means He took what Satan intended for evil and used it to bring about good. All these phrases are perfectly acceptable if you subscribe to the Calvinist framework – but many who use these phrases do not. When employing these phrases, it is entirely possible to suggest that God did something that Satan did or we did -- this is pretty close to blasphemy. Everything does in fact happen for a reason. But when people say this they are again suggesting that God did “this” for a reason. In reality, our own decisions have consequences and so do the decisions of everyone that lived before us. I could not stand more strongly on my belief that not everything that happens is God’s will.

I MADE JESUS LORD OF MY LIFE / I ASKED JESUS INTO MY HEART

No human has ever made Jesus Lord of anything. The Father did that in the resurrection and when He gave Him the name that is above every other name. We either submit to His lordship or we don’t. But our decision has no bearing on whether or not He remains Lord. Both of these phrases miss the mark because they accidentally trick people into thinking that they invite Jesus into their story – in actuality, Jesus invites them into His. This has a whole world of implications that I mustn’t venture into. 

JESUS IS COMING BACK SOON BECAUSE THINGS ARE GETTING SO BAD

The world has been messed up since the fall. And times have been much worse, even from a morality standpoint, than they are right now in the United States. Jesus is coming back but it has been “the end times” since He ascended into heaven. He has commissioned His church to extend His reign on this earth while He is away. This idea that things are getting worse works against the logic of an expansive kingdom. Does God’s kingdom triumph over dark? Or does dark win? When we use this phrase we suggest to people that they are just biding time until Jesus comes back to get us out of this mess --- and in the process we miss commissioning them to do what the church is supposed to do: continue the work of Jesus on this earth, shining light into every dark place, and ushering in His ultimate reign.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

BLESS THIS FOOD TO OUR BODIES

I am all about thanking God that we have food – but something just doesn’t feel right when I ask Him to bring health to my body as I eat a big mac, French fries, and a 32 oz Coke. One author suggests asking God to make these things good for our bodies is like jumping off a cliff and praying for God to catch you.

I’M ASKING GOD TO OPEN AND SHUT DOORS

I have prayed for this many times. But recently I have been convicted that King David didn’t operate under the assumption that an open door meant God’s will. After being pronounced the future king, he had multiple chances to kill the king and assume his rightful place – but he refused to take matters into his own hands.

ITS OKAY, NOBODY’S PERFECT / THE CHURCH IS FULL OF HYPOCRITES AND WE ALWAYS HAVE ROOM FOR ONE MORE

Again, true. This is a way to say, “We have fallen. And God is full of grace!” Yet this sentiment can undermine the command of God Himself to “Be holy as I am holy”. Holiness is a serious calling and constantly reminding people that they will never achieve the standard to which they are called is probably a bad idea.

It’s hard to believe 12 years have passed since that dreadful day. None of our lives have been the same ever since, even in ways we don’t always recognize. It’s crazy to think that freshmen in high school were 2 or 3 years old when it happened – and in 12 more years freshmen will be learning about 9/11 in the same way I learned about another event that changed all of our lives forever, Pearl Harbor. And that is what I am afraid of.

I remember learning about the events of December 7, 1941 and feeling like I was so disconnected from them. I understood that it was a devastating event that culminated in our engaging WW2 but it was difficult to grasp the full magnitude of what happened. I tell my daughters stories. I believe it’s important for them to know who they are, what they are a part of, and where we are from. And perhaps there has not been a more defining moment than 9/11 in terms of things that have shaped the world they will grow up in. I have a responsibility to teach them about that day. But I recognize that my daughters risk never being able to truly grasp the magnitude of what happened when those towers fell because they just didn’t experience it. More than anything, I’m kind of afraid to tell my young, innocent daughters the details of that day because I’m afraid they won’t be able to handle it – but I don’t want to wait until they are 14 years old and the event is 25 years in the past because then it will seem like a history lesson on a page that they have no connection to. And if I water down the story so they can ‘understand’ it or in the name of protecting their innocence, I risk them missing out on feeling the weight of it – and that is the very thing that has changed us.

This is very similar to how I feel about the story of scripture. I want them to understand who they are, what they are a part of, and where we are from… but the pull to overlook and ignore the tragic and epic events that got us here is overwhelming. Will they ‘understand’ the creation, the fall, the flood, the weight of sin, the kingdom, the crucifixion, the resurrection…? No story is more important than this one – this is The Story that everyone lives in, many people just don’t know it. It is incumbent upon me to not wait until they are 14 years old to try to teach them these truths because I don’t want it to be a history lesson that they have no connection to. And if I water down the story so they can understand it, I risk them missing out on feeling the weight of it – and that is the very thing that changes us.

As parents I think we have the difficult challenge of embracing the stories that have defined us and passing them onto our children – so many kids grow up not knowing who they are, what they are a part of, or where they came from. Deuteronomy 6 explains this pretty well when God tells the Israelites how important it is to teach their children who He is, what He has done for them, and why they adhere to His words. “Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.” Intentionally passing on the story of 9/11 in the context of The Story prevents each generation from thinking they are living in their own individual story. 9/11 is a monumental part of our kids story, even if they weren't born yet.

I believe the world belongs now to the current generation – and so what we do with it is entirely on us. If we don’t pass on the stories that defined us to the next generation, no one else will. Generations are not islands -- they are the next chapter in a story that has been going on since the beginning of time. Today, tell your kids about that dreadful day that changed us forever.