The Way of the World
The world consistently adheres to the values of power and subjugation with a tenacity that undermines its own humanity. Win at all costs. Dominate the competition. Consolidate the power and hold on to said power with every fiber of your being. Rinse and repeat. This is the history of mankind.
One need not look any further than the way politicians around the world try to maintain power under the guise of doing what’s best for their people. Rarely could you point to a period of history where rulers lived out such charity for the people they served. The drippings of pride are found in nearly every nook and cranny of our world. Submission is a dirty word…especially in American vernacular. To submit is to lose. To surrender is to die, andGod knows we don’t want to die.
The Way Of Jesus
The way of Jesus seems to undermine every aspect of our culture and world’s desire to “win.” Jesus taught that humanity needed to die to self to experience life. Jesus submitted to the Father, even unto death. He was humiliated and despised. Instead of fighting for himself, he willingly gave himself up and was silent in the face of his accusers. It seems to me that the life of Jesus and his instructions to his followers is in clear opposition to the way of the world.
Instead of pride, Jesus leads us to humility. In Jesus we see that humility is in fact, the way to life. Pride on the other hand, will lead us to death.
Pride vs. Humility
The irony of course is that the more you cling to pride the more slavish you become to its asks. It will lead you to sell your soul to continue to fuel the never satiated hunger for power and prestige. For one whose life is consumed with pride will stop at nothing to prop itself up in its false sense of grandeur. Pride undoubtedly begins to move one to degrade and denigrate others so that it can continue the illusion of greatness. It will kill, steal, and murder without thinking. It kills, because ultimately it cuts us off from the life sustaining power of God when it proclaims “I have no need for God.” Make no mistake, pride always leads us to death.
Humility also requires a death, however it’s of a different nature. It requires a death that, though painful, actually frees oneself of the need to project and protect. The beauty of humility’s invitation is that if you’ve already died, then there’s nothing to lose. You could fill an entire library with the writings of the Church through the millennia on humility. Clearly it was important. In fact, so important, that the writers have said that humility is the only virtue that the demons cannot mimic.
Humility requires letting go. It beckons us to suffer with a promise that life is on the other side. It is the resurrection life. This is because, when we let go of control and our perceived need for power, we ultimately fall squarely into the hands of our God. Humility is not thinking poorly of oneself – it is a reliance upon God that allows us to see ourselves rightly. We see ourselves rightly when we understood our complete and utter dependence upon God.
Which Death Do You Choose?
The promise of course is that when we die to ourselves and humble ourselves before the Lord, he will raise us up. Life unto death, death on the cross, death that leads to a resurrection and glorification.
With each day, we’re offered a choice, which death will we choose? A death that ultimately leads to life or one that kills, steals, and destroys all that is good.
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