Psalm 75
I will judge with equity...A friend of mine once, very wisely I think, offered that he had more respect for people who believe that the world is coming to an end and express this belief in what most of us would call extreme and irrational actions, like raving in the city square and carrying "the end is nigh placards," than for people who hold the same belief, but do very little about it. Even if we don't agree with their beliefs or actions, at least the 'fanatics' are trying to do something, while the more 'normal' people hold their convictions to themselves. I don't know if I totally agree, but it's a challenging thought, and I think about it fairly frequently.
I say to the boastful, "Do not boast,"
and to the wicked, "Do not lift up your horn[.]"
A number of years ago I used to volunteer at a downtown drop-in centre. What I found in some cases was that some of the great 'success' stories -- the people who had turned their lives around at least in part through the witness and help of Christians -- displayed a disturbing smugness. It seemed that it was very easy to slip into arrogance. This arrogance was evident in their conversations with other clients and with volunteers. It was disappointing and frustrating for me to see, that while these people found help and made radical life changes, the Christianity that inspired them also developed smoothly and rapidly into ugly conceitedness. I wonder if there is something in either Christianity or humanity's 'DNA' that makes it susceptible to such distortion.
We're often really good at talking about rules, purity, 'being right with God,' and conversion, but not always so good at fostering humility in ourselves and others. It's as if the instructions to not judge is seen as existing on a lower level. [Or upon further reflection, I'd maybe say that we in the mainline churches are getting better at the humility piece, but still need to affirm that it is a radical part of the Gospel message, rather than a second tier, or compromising of the Gospel.] I think we'd be a lot better off if humility were treated with the same seriousness as other aspects of the Christian life.
- Matthew Kieswetter
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