Fearfully & Wonderfully Made - 3

Dear Journal,

When I first read that “God opposes the proud” or that “pride comes before a fall,” I thought that this opposition must be painful indeed. I sought to avoid this secondary fall at all costs. However, this week I have come to realize that in the midst of my pride, the most gracious thing God could do is to oppose my self-centered plans. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made points to the muscular system to illustrate this point.

Dr. Brand once had a patient whose neck muscles twitched with such violence that “every few seconds his chin smashed into his right shoulder” (Brand  Yancey, p. 189). The man’s story was a sad one, but Dr. Brand’s key point focused more on the dysfunction of a muscle. You see, the muscle itself does not cause the impairment, but the nerves that cause it to act independently from the body. The parallel drawn between the autonomous actions of a muscle in a physical body and the self-serving actions of a member of Christ’s body, are certainly striking. Yancey and Brand skillfully paint this picture in the book:

Acts of love—healing, feeding…proclaiming Christ—are the spiritual Body’s proper functions of movement. Even these motions, though…can fall prey to a dangerous dysfunction. Like the spastic muscle, we can tend to perform acts of kindness for our own benefit, for our sakes and reputations. Those of us in Christian work…consistently come against this subtle tendency toward pride. Someone comes to me for spiritual counsel, and I give it. But before they have walked out of my room I’m congratulating myself on what a fine counselor I am. (p. 192)

Any human being would most likely read this and chuckled knowingly—I certainly did. Why? Because the sin of pride is a story that I know all too well. Pride is the vice that serves as a “thorn in my side,” and lately, combating such a foe has proven an insurmountable task.

God did humble me this week and I would be lying if I feigned that it brought no sting. But this book taught me that the fall after my pride is not merely to put me “back in my place,” but also to draw me nearer the heart of God. Jesus was wholly submitted to the will of God, and from this willing submission, it appears, sprang the intimacy Jesus enjoyed with His heavenly Father. Pride draws me to act on my own and prevent intonation of my heart to God’s will—both for my personal life and my life in the Christian body. The book illustrates this in terms familiar to many a church-going soul:

Quite commonly in old age friction will begin to cause joints to ache and throb—a natural response to years of wear. In Christ’s Body, this natural wear is sometimes seen in the intolerant way older, wise Christians may judge those who have a new enthusiasm for the faith but much to learn about behavior or doctrine…Members become hypersensitive…Their own dignity and position become more important than the harmony of the group. Or, they may choose a minor doctrinal issue and make agreement on it the determinant of spiritual unity (p. 197-198).

Herein lies the spark that lit the Holy fire; the Fire able to shed light on even my darkened heart. Pride, like any sin, disrupts my relationship with God, and my resulting ability to do what is right. I began to understand why many heroes of the faith choose to spend their lives serving in those obscure, poverty stricken communities, occupied only by the untouchables of society. They take a preemptive “fall” that unadulterated faith may abound. I thank God that He opposed me in my pride. It is obvious that, trying on my own, this sin would only have grown. The Apostle Paul's words far surpass my own on the subject:

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

 Love,

Lynley