Sunday, September 25, 2005
Word For The Week
One thing that I have found to be absolutely certain is that hubris will always precipitate a fall. That is a Biblical principle that has come into play repeatedly in my life, both personally and vicariously. I am a huge University of Michigan fan - I bleed Maze and Blue - and my Wolverines went into Madison, Wisconsin yesterday thinking that the Badgers would just roll over and play dead for them. They were dead wrong and they lost a game that they should have won. I have been in Louisville long enough to have been assimilated into the ranks of the fans of the Louisville Cardinals - so long as they're not playing Michigan - and the Cards ran into the same problem in South Florida yesterday. Thinking themselves invincible and their potent offense unstoppable, they meandered down to Tampa for what they expected to be a cakewalk and got their hat handed to them. USF put foot to coccyx yesterday, beating the Cardinals 45-14, kicking that tail all the way to Kenya.
The lesson here, as Yogi Berra might put it, is that you haven't arrived until you've arrived. Too many Christians get to thinking that we have arrived, that we have already attained God-likeness such that everyone should be exactly like us, and this has no basis in reality. Paul, in our text today, noted that he had not been entirely sanctified, that he had not been made perfect, but that he pressed on toward that objective - to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. This was Paul speaking - the writer of almost half of the New Testament - and if Paul can confess that he is not perfect then why do today's Christians get to thinking that we have already arrived, that we've got it all together?
Lord knows that I fall short - I have a temper, I don't suffer fools gladly, and I can't abide stupidity. Yet I, of all people, know that sometimes the best way to identify an ignorant fool is to find a mirror, because we all get into foolish activities or foolish conversations or foolish thoughts. And sometimes it's not just foolishness but sinfulness - I'm guilty, and so are you. But the one thing that we must do is press on toward the goal - we have to keep our eyes on the prize - and when we fall short we much confess our sins for He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. But if we claim that we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives. Once our fellowship is restored through confession and repentance we must press on toward the prize, consistently trying to become more and more like Jesus Christ - that is sanctification, and it drives out prideful hubris.
Michigan lost yesterday in large part due to prideful hubris. Louisville lost yesterday in large part due to prideful hubris. Today, my beloved Steelers play the New England Patriots at 4:00 PM EST. I pray that they remember what prideful hubris brought them the last time they played the Patriots...
The lesson here, as Yogi Berra might put it, is that you haven't arrived until you've arrived. Too many Christians get to thinking that we have arrived, that we have already attained God-likeness such that everyone should be exactly like us, and this has no basis in reality. Paul, in our text today, noted that he had not been entirely sanctified, that he had not been made perfect, but that he pressed on toward that objective - to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. This was Paul speaking - the writer of almost half of the New Testament - and if Paul can confess that he is not perfect then why do today's Christians get to thinking that we have already arrived, that we've got it all together?
Lord knows that I fall short - I have a temper, I don't suffer fools gladly, and I can't abide stupidity. Yet I, of all people, know that sometimes the best way to identify an ignorant fool is to find a mirror, because we all get into foolish activities or foolish conversations or foolish thoughts. And sometimes it's not just foolishness but sinfulness - I'm guilty, and so are you. But the one thing that we must do is press on toward the goal - we have to keep our eyes on the prize - and when we fall short we much confess our sins for He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. But if we claim that we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives. Once our fellowship is restored through confession and repentance we must press on toward the prize, consistently trying to become more and more like Jesus Christ - that is sanctification, and it drives out prideful hubris.
Michigan lost yesterday in large part due to prideful hubris. Louisville lost yesterday in large part due to prideful hubris. Today, my beloved Steelers play the New England Patriots at 4:00 PM EST. I pray that they remember what prideful hubris brought them the last time they played the Patriots...
May The LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who implores you to press on toward the goal,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who implores you to press on toward the goal,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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Apparently, they didn't learn...
Oscar~~
Ya might want to replace the Steelers with the Patroits & UM with MSU as your favorites.
At least the Patroits are from a *blue state* & MSU is just down the road from UM! :)
Karen*in*MI