While hacking at this sin or that sin as it pops its head above ground, we fail to weed out the real enemy of our soul and the curse of hell: pride.
All the other sins stem from this one: the idolatry of self. I've never encountered a vine more invasive, a root more tenacious, a fruit more prolific, a flower more insidious, or a thorn more treacherous.
For my family and friends in the south, the image of an out-of-control vine immediately calls to mind kudzu. Kudzu is an imported invasive vine that grows a foot a day once established and suffocates everything in its path (and brings with it stinky kudzu bugs). If you've ever attempted to subdue kudzu, you'll find this excerpt from a plant expert humorous:
Kudzu patches can be eradicated with persistent treatments or they can be contained and managed with other treatment options. Herbicides, grazing, prescribed burning, and disk harrowing can be used as eradication or containment treatments. For eradication, every kudzu plant in and around a patch must be killed or the spread from any surviving plants can make all prior efforts and investments useless. This means that all landowners sharing a patch must arrange to treat the whole patch simultaneously.
I've seen the prescribed burning in action. Men in special suits carrying large blow torches. But that only works for young plants (and doesn't kill the bugs that will return as well). The only thing that works is for every plant to be ruthlessly eradicated.
Pride is freakishly similar. Like the shared kudzu patch mentioned above, the church must make arrangements to treat the whole patch simultaneously. But until it does so, we cannot root out pride ourselves—any attempt to do so proves this. Just when we think we've banished a sin habit, pride pops up in its place. Just when we master keeping a law, pride of right establishes a rootlet of judgement. Even when we encounter one of God's truths and allow it to discipline us, pride sends out a covert tendril. Our every effort is futile because the effort originates from us—self-effort being the fertile ground that breeds pride.
So, how can we be saved from this idolatry of self? How can we keep ourselves from possessing our heart's throne? Who, then, will root out our enemy of pride?
It is the revelation of Christ that is the antidote to pride, in all of its self-hyphenated forms. It is Truth himself who sets us free. It is the fire of his nearness and the degree to which that fire has wrought his image in us that transforms us. And make no mistake, this transformation into the image of Christ is humility.
Humility has been thoroughly misunderstood. It is, according to Andrew Murray in his book Humility, the singular distinguishing feature of a disciple of Christ. Humility is "infinitely deeper than contrition...[it is] our participation in the life of Jesus...our true nobility." He reiterates Christ's commands by explaining that we prove our humility by being servants of all, which is the highest fulfillment of our destiny, as men and women created in the image of God. Humility, defined, is the place of entire dependence upon God—when we become marked by the sense of how truly God is all in all.
Humility is our first duty, the highest virtue of every creature, and the root from which all other virtues grow.
"Without [humility] there can be no true abiding in God's presence, or experience of His favor and the power of His Spirit; without this no abiding faith, or love or joy or strength. Humility is the soil in which the graces root; the lack of humility is sufficient explanation of every defect and failure. Humility is not so much a grace or virtue along with others; it is the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God, and allows Him as God to do all." - Andrew Murray, Humility.
If we are to become like Christ, whose entire ministry and life was demonstrated humility, we must become the meek and lowly in heart. The entire health and strength of our spiritual life will depend upon making humility the thing we admire most, the thing we ask God for the most, and the thing for which we sacrifice everything else. Until we do, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world.
This is what ails the American church: there is a complete dearth of this divine humility, this nothingness that makes room for God to prove His power. It is not modeled, taught or developed as the single-most important mark of a disciple. But, as living stones building the church, we can look to the gardens of our own souls to develop humility.
As I said in last week's blog, we do not work our own gardens. (I sometimes wonder if all the frantic hacking at sins is actually a cover for our pride.) That is Christ's part, through the Holy Spirit. Our part is to ask, seek, and surrender to the work of humility wrought by the Holy Spirit. We do so in four ways: the maintenance of disciplines, the response to his revelation, our behavior toward fellow mankind, and a ruthlessness toward all forms of pride in our hearts.
Responses To His Work
The daily habits are the "small" habits that have a huge impact. Take caution even here: these small habits must be maintained by the Holy Spirit or else pride worms in. He develops in us the fruit of the spirit and humility as the creature. When we thank him for the "small" things—like breath, eyesight, snuggles, provision, etc., he develops in us the right—humble—position.
This is acceptable worship: to know that we have nothing but what we receive and bow in deepest humility to wait upon God for it. As we wait, a deeper understanding of the necessity of humility as our part with Christ and our relation to the Father breaks upon us. Then, we set aside our ordinary religion to secure humility as the mark of Christ within us.
Responses To His Revelation
Then we respond to his revelation...the in-your-face revelations that, like Saul/Paul, knock us off our trajectory and revise our destiny. Or Isaiah who saw the throne of heaven descend and was overcome by his uncleanness.
Or the woman who gladly surrenders social drinking when God asks. Or the man who leaves a career in order to pursue a vision. Or the family who leaves civilized society to find a land God spoke of to establish a line from which a Messiah would come. Or a husband who apologizes when he responds incorrectly. Or a pastor who repents publicly to a church wounded by his arrogance and pride.
Responses To Fellow Mankind
Following our responses to his revelations in our lives, our knowledge of God expands, and our love of God deepens. But our love of God is measured by our everyday relationships and the love displayed. 1 John 4:20 expresses that our love to God is a delusion unless is it proved by standing the test of daily life with those around us.
"The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us, and carry out in our ordinary conduct; the insignificances of our daily life are the importances and tests of eternity, because they prove what really is the spirit that possesses us." - Andrew Murray, Humility
The humble person sees every person as a child of God, honors them, and prefers them in honor as the son or daughter of a King.
Responses To Pride
Lastly, we must recognize that the ruthless eradication of our own pride and it's self-hyphenated rootlets are absolutely vital and urgent. Whether the church heeds the call to address this or not, we personally cannot afford to coddle our pride any longer. We must become like Christ.
A disciple of Christ is identified by the humility of Christ. Not in the trappings of the world that some love to call the favor of God but look suspiciously like the American Dream. Not the position or power or authority or miracles of Christ. Jesus says the poor in spirit—those who walk humbly—will be blessed. He also says we'll be known by demonstrating his love-in-action—the meek and lowly lamb of God who set aside his powers to dwell with us, took up the cup of suffering, and laid down his life.
Grace weeds out pride.