Often on this blog, I pick and poke at specific segments of Christendom — sometimes meandering on side roads, or through suburbia’s labyrinths, and only occasionally venturing into the “urban areas” of Christianity. This particular post, however, rides a double-decker bus, merges onto an eight-lane superhighway, and screeches into a mega-city: Here, in referring my readers to the “simple church” blog of Roger Thoman, my aim is to propagate his indictment of a whole bunch of us who dwell in the same vicinity. The linked essay-ette below is short. Go ahead — click on it:
(Thoman also offers a free, pretty short book via his blog.)
In the event that you, like me, don’t take time to read even the short posts that comes your way, allow me to extract a quote from the blog linked above:
“Subtle religious pride is so deeply ingrained in most of us that it’s difficult to wash out.”
Hear, hear. This word — one of uncomfortably intense judgment — takes as its antidote a humble profession of submissive discipleship, ably worded by A.W. Tozer, and aptly quoted by Thoman:
“Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream.”
No matter the particular path we travel, it is inevitable that we will intersect with someone (me? you?) who thinks too much of himself . . . someone who habitually approaches issues and situations pridefully. Pride doesn’t only “goeth” before a fall; it goeth, period. (Now, if you read my next post, or a particular one I’m working on for next week, in which relatively minor aspects of the status quo are challenged, please know that I don’t think I have all the answers. I do like to challenge time-tested, but not necessarily biblically based, traditions.)
Lord, foster poverty of spirit in us as we work in Your kingdom—the greatest reason for boasting ever.
