1 Corinthians 4 – Brandon Hatmaker “Annihilation of Humility”
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
“I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:3-5
I thought it a profound statement of both humility and perspective that Paul would say, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent”. In it, he both affirms that he is doing the best he knows how before God, and still acknowledges that He cannot grasp the fullness of God’s perfection. So easily we make the opposite claim that our conscience is clear, therefore we are innocent. What Paul is certain of, however, is that we who cannot even see where we might be guilty, certainly do not possess the ability to find the same in others. In this, we should refrain.
Why?
Because in doing so, we annihilate the possibility of maintaining any sense of personal or spiritual humility. Our very own nature will cause us to compare and contrast. We will find heightened fault in others and an elevated opinion of ourselves.
Instead, we are reminded: God will bring light to what is hidden in the darkest of places. He will expose the motives of men’s hearts. This should bring comfort to one who stands before God maintaining perspective and humility.
For those searching for faith, I hope they find encouragement in these words. Our God is truly a just God. In His timing, He will not let evil prevail. He stands up for what is right, pure, noble, and true. His ways are higher than our ways. It makes His Grace even more amazing. It makes discovering what it takes to be called a child of God, an even more worthwhile pursuit.
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It is hard to be truly humble in our society. I imagine it has always been like this in the world. I go back and forth and back and forth with humilty and being a doormat. Paul said he did not care what other men or courts of this world thought of him. He did not go out and seek to "get his" when he could. It is such an easy trap the enemy uses on us. We look at how we may have been mistreated at work or in a relationship or even at church. Then we get upset and say that it just isn't fair. So, naturally we are going to do something about it. That is not God's way. Paul starts out telling us that we are to be servants. We have to leave the judging up to God. It is such a struggle. It is a struggle that may be more deadly and dangerous then most. It is one we have to give to God and die to daily, DAILY.
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