I Believe In Humility

“I would rather have some wrong doctrines and humility than to have perfect orthodoxy on every point and no humility.” -Jack Deere

 

WHAT????   No way man, I am the son of an E-Free pastor and I do have perfect orthodoxy and after all that is what Christians should want most…right??(my initial response)(thank you Lord for your grace!)  This statement by Jack Deere was a tough one to swallow.

   As I started learning more about the bible and theology, I started to enjoy picking out flaws in other peoples actions and understandings.  Not to love them or to encourage them, but to show them that I knew better!  I listened to a message by John Piper, and he described our understanding as looking at our reflections in a platter, we can kinda make out the image, but we don’t see it clearly. 

   Another analogy he gave was that spiritual gifts are like street lamps.  Prophecy and healing are occasional in this dark and fallen world, but when we get to heaven it is like day time and we won’t need street lamps because we will see everything!  Thanks to the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit we can begin to comphrehend the bible, but we are still humans with feeble minds in the presence of the sovereign God.

   With or without great knowledge, pride pushes me away from my father and any brothers or sisters in Christ who do not have the same exact understandings as I do.  Yes I want to know and understand the ways of my father, but not to boast like the pharisees, but to love him more with a humble attitude! 

   On this trip I am sure there will theological differences with team members, but I pray we carry our beliefs with humility, and build up the unity of the group.

 

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” 1 Peter 5:5