Growth

Swallowing My Righteousness

We’ve all heard the phrase “sometimes, you have to swallow your pride.” I would guess that 99% of the time that this phrase is used it references someone who has done something wrong and they are reluctant to admit it. It’s hard to be humble, to admit our failings. The difficulty that it causes is the reason that we are admonished to to consume our own boastfulness; it’s not something that comes naturally.

As hard as swallowing one’s pride is, I think its harder to swallow our own righteousness; to overlook the wrong that’s been done or the injustice that’s been committed and to recognize that sometimes God calls us to set aside what we think we deserve so that He can get what He deserves. Proverbs 19:11 says that it is our “glory to overlook an offense.” How counterculture is that in a world that proclaims the need for “talking it out” and “not holding it in.” Obviously these have their place in relationships too, but in a quick review of Scripture the only time I could find that we were told to seek out a conversation is when 1) we were the ones committing the offense or 2) when the offense (i.e. sin) was against the Lord. Maybe if we didn’t think so highly of ourselves we wouldn’t be so eager to talk with others about the wrong that they committed against us. Maybe if we thought a little more highly of God we’d be more eager to address the wrong that they’ve committed against Him.

I don’t know how to be o.k. with not telling someone when they’ve hurt me, but I know that sometimes that’s what I’m called to do. And so I’m learning. My self-righteousness doesn’t have the best taste, but like so many other things in life, maybe its an acquired one.

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Being Content

A Giver, Not An Ascetic

As a youth, I infamously remarked once “it’s the gift that counts.” Years of teasing, and frequent attempts at trying to explain, have left me with one conclusion. . . I was right. It is the gift that counts, if you’re the giver.

This was brought to mind recently when I heard a pastor exposit on contentedness. This is a subject that’s near and dear to my heart and so I listened with rapt attention. One point that I found extremely interesting was that God commands us to be content with what we do have, not content with what we’re without (Mike Fabarez, Nov. 28, 2007). In other words, the focus is not on our lack, its on our abundance. Regardless of what we have, all of God’s children have exceeding riches (See Ephesians 1:7). Additionally God has given us many physical things “for our enjoyment” (See I Timothy 6:17). Some, those who are ascetics, believe that physical goods are trappings and should be disposed of. However, Paul makes it clear that we are to trust that these good things come from the One who is Good, and enjoy them accordingly.

Continuing his charge, Paul admonishes those who are rich in physical goods to share generously with others. Although this goes outside of the bounds of Paul’s instructions, I believe that one of the reasons for this is because it is the most pronounced way that we can enjoy these physical blessings. When we share with others, our enjoyment increases. When we can use what we’ve been given to be a blessing, we’ve helped advance the Kingdom. Giving isn’t just good for the recipient, its good for the giver. It brings the giver enjoyment.

My remark from when I was younger was, in all honesty, a mistake. But sometimes the “folly of our youth” can prove more wise than we originally anticipated.

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