False Humility

I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. It probably sounds a little geeky but I just want to know the story before I see the movie "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". And, besides that, the writings of C.S. Lewis hold a special place in my heart. It was his book "Mere Christianity" that was a catalyst for my conversion.

But what does this have to do with this week's topic? It's all leading up to a quote. The first book in the Narnia series is called "The Magician's Nephew". The magician is this selfish old man named Uncle Andrew who gets into quite a bit of trouble in the story. At one point, in a passage referring to Uncle Andrew, the narrator says "Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed."

The word of God exhorts us to be humble... To not pretend to be more than we are. But by the same token, the word of God also tells us to not pretend to be less than we are. In other words, to not have false humility. False humility flies in the face of the authenticity God desires us to have. Authenticity with Him, Authenticity with others, and Authenticity with ourselves. It's OK to recognize that you are talented at something as long as you know where the gift came from. In fact, our talents should ultimately humble us and inspire us to use the talent in service as we recognize that the blessing could have just as easily been given to someone else. False humility plays down the gift because it wants others to affirm the gift and thus feed the pride. Said another way, false humility is sneaky pride.

So this week, we are praying about any tendencies toward false humility that we may have. Ask a close brother or sister this week if you have this tendency - "the wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses" Proverbs 27:6. If you don't have this tendency, that's another gift to be thankful for… you can pray for your brothers and sisters who do struggle with it.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob