Fake Humility

"A man is never so proud as when striking an attitude of humility." C.S. Lewis

"How would telling people to be nice to one another get a man crucified?" -John Eldridge

"Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him." -Herod

"For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." -2 Timothy 3:2-5

I know too many stories about people being abused and then being told that they need to practice humility when they are angry about how they were treated. What sucks even more is that a vast majority of these stories have come from people in Christian Schools and churches. Abusers abuse, and then they blame. And if they have the right title and degree, the sheep are unfortunately conditioned to believe them. The church has always had a hard time spotting a wolf. A lot of German churches flew the Nazi Flag. Or they would just tuck a swastika inside their cross.

We don't know what true humility is anymore. Maybe it's because true humility is so hard to find. Maybe it's because our social media feeds have our attention more than our spouses, children, and neighbors. Or most likely, it's because most of us are not getting our definition of humility from Scripture.

John the Baptist has always been my poster boy for true humility. Jesus said that there was no one greater. John said that he wasn't good enough to untie Jesus' sandals. He said that he must decrease so that Christ could increase. This is the best example of humility I know.

But this guy was hardcore. Survived in the wilderness, didn't give a rip what people thought about his clothes, had a backbone of steel and a tongue sharp enough to get him killed. He wasn't subtle, vague or quiet. He called out the sexual sin of political leaders, and he called out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. I still can't get over how he called the Pharisee's "offspring of the snake". What John teaches us is that clear and aggressive speech can be considered evidence of true humility.

Few things refresh me more an a good friend that says it the way that it is. I find them to be genuinely humble. But I grow increasingly wary of the one who is vague or confusing in their speech. They just have a way of reminding me of Herod and the Sanhedrin: head hunting