Tag Archives: pride

The Uninspired Life

Posted on by
1

In case you were wondering, its been a great week for me.  Yes there’s been the added stress and work after my wife’s surgery, but she’s recovering and doing well, and I’ve managed to not burn the house down – so I’d call that a success.

The Easter Service went well.  We had a full house in church. My sermon rocked.  I didn’t really have a lot to confess during that quiet time of reflection.  Success!

Work is going well.  I’ve got this whole “exegetical method” down pretty well — it only took me about 10 years to get it down.  I start with some Greek study, write out some preliminary thoughts, read through some commentaries, write out the sermon.  All in all, it is an enjoyable discipline of studying Scripture – another success.

I’ve started running again.  Now that I’ve written that, something will probably come up and keep me from running tonight, but I’ve been doing well, feeling stronger with every run, going a little further every night, maintaining a steady pace per mile, and even losing a bit of weight along the way.  Winning!

So after my run last night the little voice in my head started in with the praise, “Yup, its been a pretty good week, Big E, keep up the good work.”  Then here was the kicker, “You haven’t had to ask God for anything, way to go!”

Crap!

(I’m sorry if that offends, but its the only word that truly signifies the sudden shift from self-congratulatory hubris to a Spirit led conviction – I stand behind, not in, the word.)

It is an uninspired life that does not depend on the power of the Spirit of God for everything.

I am so weak that I begin to think I am strong.  I practice carefully to discipline myself so that I can stand on my own two feet, independent of anyone – especially God.  I consider it an accomplishment if I don’t have to ask God for anything to help me get through the week, the day, the hour.  I consider it a sign of strength if all my prayers are for those around me, but I’m just fine on my own.  Why would I need God to guide me in my sermon prep, I’ve got commentaries for that.  Why would I need God to help me teach and raise my kids, I’ve read books about that.  I am independent. I am strong.  I am the master of my own life.

I am full of it. (Refer here to the offending word above.)

What I need, I think, is a case of “Learned Helplessness.”  Usually this is considered a bad thing, where, faced with the overwhelming and uncontrollable flow of events, individuals feel helpless and unable to cope with life.

But for the Christian, learned helplessness is the starting point for saving Grace. Being helpless before the Lord is not weakness, rather it is finding true strength. I cannot save myself, I must trust in my Savior.  I cannot be the master of my destiny, I must trust in the One who is.  I cannot get my life together, I must trust in the One who holds my life in His hands.  I am weak, but in my weakness His strength is made perfect.

So where do I turn to learn weakness in the Spirit?  I’ve found the Puritans often help.

Here’s my prayer for the day (from The Valley of Vision):

O Thou Most High,
It becomes me to be low in thy presence.
I am nothing compared to thee;
I possess not the rank and power of angels,
but thou hast made me what I am,
and placed me where I am;
help me to acquiesce in thy sovereign pleasure.
I thank thee that in the embryo state of my endless being
I am capable by grace of improvement;
that I can bear thy image,
not by submissiveness, but by your design,
and can work with thee and advance thy cause and glory.
But, alas, the crown has fallen from my head:
I have sinned;
I am alien to thee;
my head is deceitful and wicked,
my mind an enemy to thy law.
Yet, in my lostness thou hast laid help on the Mighty One
and he comes between to put his hands on us both,
my Umpire, Daysman, Mediator,
whose blood is my peace,
whose righteousness is my strength,
whose condemnation is my freedom,
whose Spirit is my power,
whose heaven is my heritage.
Grant that I may feel more the strength of thy grace
in subduing the evil of my nature,
in loosing me from the present evil world,
in supporting me under the trials of life,
in enabling me to abide with thee in my valleys,
in exercising me to have a conscience void of offence
before thee and before men.
In all my affairs may I distinguish between duty and anxiety,
and may my character and not my circumstances chiefly engage me.

Humbly yours…

On Presbyterians and Potato Chips

Posted on by
3

“And the word of the Lord will be to them:
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
Isaiah 28:13 (ESV)

 The old joke goes:

Roman Catholics open a bag of potato chips and find the Virgin Mary (what a blessing).
Evangelicals open the same bag of chips and find Satan (he’s always lurking around the corner).

After spending time at a gathering of Presbyterians, I have observed the following:

Progressive Presbyterian Scholars open the bag, and seeing that all the chips are of different size and shape, determine that they could not have come from the same potato and therefore the chips cannot be trusted.  Then, realizing that many of the chips are broken, they repent of ever having bought a bag of chips and supporting such cruelty and oppression.  Finally, they would hold a symposium declaring that all chips (ruffled, flat, baked, or fried) are essentially the same, leading us all, ultimately, to the one, true Spud.

Yes, I just spent nearly a week in the presence of other Presbyterian pastors, and while that is not an altogether unpleasant experience, there are some things that can be very disturbing.  Sometimes, the ribaldry around the dinner table drips with arrogance and condescension.  “Can you believe those rubes who still hold to a literal belief in the Bible?  It’s full of errors; you can’t really trust what you read there.  It must be nuanced; you must see it from an enlightened perspective.”  One pastor railed over the idea that some people still think that the animals entered the Ark two by two, or that there was even an Ark.  How unsophisticated.  “Don’t they see the contradiction.  Genesis elsewhere says, ‘there were seven pairs of all the animals.’  Can’t they see that it’s all just a myth?  And why do they get offended when I say myth?”  (That last bit is a fairly close quote.)

(Just to clarify, there were seven pairs of the clean animals, for the sacrifice.  The rest of the animals, clean and unclean, came on two by two.)

The conversation then turned to one Pastor’s experience when a couple from a “fundamentalist” church came by her house to do an interview.  One might think, judging by her attitude, that these pollsters were buck-toothed viper handlers, for they had the audacity to ask, “Do you believe in heaven?” and “Where did you learn your faith as a child?”  What un-nuanced simpletons!

I have a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to vain-glory and arrogance, especially in the pastorate.  I know the sin all too well; it is one that I have to give over to the Lord every day.  But to see it celebrated as enlightened superiority – it made my stomach turn.  There was no love for those whose view of the Bible differed from theirs, no possibility of learning from someone who was passionate about their beliefs.  We were gathered to evaluate ordination exams to determine the readiness of candidates for ordained ministry, and this was the attitude of the readers.

For me, this was an opportunity to exercise the gift of silence.  I knew I was sorely outnumbered, my mind was already fatigued from reading exams all day, and any debate would be an exercise in futility.  I sat quietly, politely sipping my tea, watching the trees sway outside the window, wondering if they were driven by the hot air coming from our table.

The conversation also reminded me of the pernicious peril of Pride.  Pride is dangerous for the Pastor, deadly for the church.  When a Pastor is full of himself, arrogant and boisterous, there’s no room for Jesus, no time for the gospel.  Of course the prideful Pastor won’t tell you that, but you’ll see it.  The Jesus he preaches will begin to look a lot like himself.  And that’s just fine for him.

We need, each of us, pastor and layman, to submit our stubborn will to Christ.  We have wild, rebellious hearts of stone that would rather dive head first into the blazing fires of hell (and yes, I do believe there is a Hell) by our own choice than to give up one iota of independence through submission to someone else.  Oh how we need for God to give us new hearts; hearts that beat for Him alone, hearts that can break for our sin, hearts that are tender and strong to love, hearts that will bow to the Savior and Lord.

May God bless His Church.  May God speak to His Church through the faithful preaching and hearing of His Word.  May God reform His pastors by that same Word.

Now, will someone please pass the chips?

SDG