I have been struggling with why the conversation of brokenness is so prevalent today. I think it is tied to a false sense of humility. The only problem I see is that brokenness doesn't lead to humility but being broken. Humility leads to humility and then to contentment in Christ. And you can't talk much of being humble.
We had a high school person in our discipleship program complaining that he wasn't being broken this year like he was the past few years. When asked why that is a bad thing he couldn't put his finger on it. Brokenness is an event, humility is a way.
I think when we talk about brokenness the central figure is us but when we walk in humility the central figure is everyone else but us.
I am not saying that we don't need to be broken, but our goal is not brokenness but being set apart, holiness, to do the will of the Kingdom. Glorifying the Lamb.
Just a late night ponder...
3 comments:
Good point...
For the last couple of years I've thought one of our great weaknesses as the church as a whole, and also on the individual level, is that we don't include ourselves. I'm having trouble trying to frame what I'm getting at, but when we do missions, we don't include ourselves in that. When we serve, we don't include ourselves. We serve everyone but ourselves. We neglect ourselves. We pass the cantine around until it's empty and we realiize we haven't had anything to drink. We protect and steward everyone else but not ourselves.
There's God and there's Not God. We're part of the Not God. When we allow ourselves to perceive ourselves as members of that thirst bunch, we'll be a lot healthier. All we really need in order to be broken is to go on like we do. I agree with you. It seems a lot more like humility to step back and say, "I need some time. Jesus wants me to give me Jesus, too. I'm part of the Not God group that thirsts."
Humility seems like acknowledging that the source of completeness lays outside ourself. Going on and on while neglecting ourselves leads to brokenness and I guess can look a lot like service, but in as much it also looks like self-sufficiency, which is anything but humility.
That is very well said. Loving others as we love ourselves means also, at some level, loving ourselves.
We are not called to be broken, though we are called to be humble. Granted, we will need to be broken on our way to being who we are to eventually to be, but our ultimate calling is to be whole in Christ. Means, and ends, means and ends.
Post a Comment