Witness for the Truth

In response to a request I want to share a few observations on what humility means in today’s Christian culture, how it is not true humility (Christianly speaking), and how human deviousness has brought this about. But first I would like to thank RC at a href=”http://strangeculture.blogspot.com” for not only being helpful in suggesting a topic to write about, but mostly for encouraging my heart by commenting on a previous post. Thank you.

Now, for the matter at hand. The present treatment by Christians in respect to the virtue of humility, if there be any found at all, is most troubling and leads me to some conclusions that I tremble at even making.

There has been a vast departure from the ways of previous generations of religious men. What I mean is, that throwing off vices and aquiring virtues used to be inseperable from Christianity. But in these days one is thought not mearly to be a fool for desiring to do the same, but even cursed as being one who does not understand grace.

Now we know that in the New Testament the writers of the Epistles gave lists and examples of the virtues that one was to desire as well as describing those vices that one ought to flee from. So there can be no disagreement concerning the fact that we are admonished to be loving, patient, kind, charitable, etc.; and are warned to be aware of selfishness, greed, idolatry, pride, etc.

But this is how the confusion has occured. We can see that those things that we are admonished to, are not natural to our human nature. And the things that we are told to flee from are. But the inner transformation that occures by the work of the Holy Spirit reverses this. That is, in so far as there is now One present within us to whom those virtues are natural and the vices not natural. But since reason has become the foremost discerner of truth, man began to change what previously had been an internal work that produced an external effect into an external work in hopes that it would produce an internal effect.

Now that we have some understanding of modern Christian philosophy, we can take a look more specifically at the effects it has upon humility.

Christian humility is this: To be willing to face ridicule and humiliation from man in one’s sincere and steadfast following and witnessing to the truth of the Gospel; which is that a lowly despised man whom walked upon this earth and testified to the Truth and all that the Father had made known to him, was indeed God.

So what does this humility look like? It looks like what ever external effect is produced from one having that internal willingness. And to protect anyone from just brushing what I have said out of his mind; this “willingness” is indeed a gift from God.

Someone might ask, “Is this not the very thing that all of us Christians are doing right now?”

Heavens no! In fact you could not being doing anything further from this then what you are doing right now! Can’t you see what has occured? Are you not aware of what has been done? By establishing an external verification to an internal reality, it has been made nearly impossible that one could come to know Him who lives within them since He is only represented by Christian teachers in an external sense. Every person is now concerned with meeting the external qualifications that have been established by those who have the responsibility for assisting one in believing what one cannot see. But since reason is only satisfied by the validation that comes from physical observation; that which can only be validated by the arrival of faith in the Unseen is regarded as being really nothing at all.

Humility then becomes doing this action or that action; those actions that have been deemed as humble.

Well. That certainly is convienient. You no longer have to endure the pity that man has upon one who has given up his own desires to be used as his God wishes; and face humiliation day in and day out for believing in such a thing. Today, if one wishes to be given the crown of embodying true humility all you have to do is stoop down to the level of taking someone else’s plate to the kitchen so that they may remain part of the dinner conversation.
What divine humility!