I Cry Language Revolution!

Lately I’ve come to believe that humility and Christianity are synonymous terms.

The act of “becoming a Christian” involves admitting our own inherent sinfulness and a complete in-ability to save ourselves. It means an abandonment of any other means of spiritual self-preservation. It is ultimate humility. Placing ourselves at the mercy of God, we ask to be forgiven. And we are. We are forgiven, and we are welcomed into His family as a son, joint-heirs with Christ. We call it salvation, but it starts with humility.

Humility only grows the more we understand our place in God’s spiritual family. Think about the things that God commands his sons and daughters to do: yield (Galatians 5:16), submit (James 4:7), present (Romans 6:13), and confess (1 John 1:9). Our spiritual journey is advanced only by further humbling ourselves before our Spiritual Father, Savior and God.

The idea that we could earn our way to spiritual growth is absurd. It’s laughable to think of acquiring a spiritual merit-badge by way of skill and perseverance. What could we ever accomplish that would impress God? Actions generated from a prideful desire to “level-up” spiritually is the opposite of spiritual growth. That is legalism. That is pride.

But if I’m honest, many of my spiritual activities are attempts to please God. Pride is more a part of my spiritual history than humility.

The problem with humility is that it’s just un-American.

We Americans value hard work, responsibility, success, courage and ownership. We hate the idea of dependence. We loath surrender, and we detest submission. We want to earn our own way. Isn’t that desire the heart of the American Dream?

I love my country, but lately I’ve been realizing that the things which make me a good American also make me a lousy Christian. After all, “God opposes the proud, but give grace to the humble.”