"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God,
You will not despise. "(NASB)
I came upon this verse one morning last week and it grinded within me for some reason. It has remained on my heart for the past few days and I keep coming back to it.
It embodies humility.
Something I daily fail at, yet have been striving to know more of.
I heard in a sermon recently (Mark Driscoll's "The Humble Christian" and "Humility" - podcast) Driscoll discussing how Christianity is set apart from ALL other religions on the basis of this one principle - humility.
No other religion presents its "King" in the form of a humble being...as one who washes the feet of others...dines with the lowly...has a peasant birth...is presented as "King" to the people while riding into town on a Donkey (a borrowed donkey, for that matter)...and ultimately sacrifices his life for the people he loves...
No other religion (or earthly model/style of thinking) promotes humility.
Driscoll poses the question of how can anyone not believe in Christ and the resurrection story and that it was not made up by man? Why would any man make up such a God and story based solely on humility?
Truth is - no man ever has. All other religions work to please their gods and are certainly never served by their god. What other "god" do you know that accepts a broken heart as pure worship and sacrifice?
What other religion do you know of that offers the FREE GIFT of eternal salvation? You see, if we had to do something to earn that free gift, we would then be contributors...not solely God.
Furthermore, the opposite of humility, PRIDE, was the fall of Satan...the first of all sins...arguably, the brunt of all sins. And it doesn't take long to glance at the world around us and note that pride is still Satan's choice ammunition in taking down mankind.
So shouldn't the pursuit of humility in Christ be our ammunition in the battle?
The NLT states the verse this way:
"The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart,
O God." (NLT)
No money. No wise words. No church attendance. No good deeds. No prayers before meals. A broken and repentant heart.
Convicting.
I think the pursuit of humility is one of the hardest roads to travel. It runs counter-culture to every other road, message, and path present in the world and is the direct opposite of how Satan's attempting to destruct lives.
You better bet you'll be met with opposition on such a road.
I know I sure feel the struggle...the anguish...the lies...and feel I've dried up the grace-well in this area far too many times. :)
But let's keep trying.
A friend sent out an email not too long ago that dealt with the premise of teaching your children to be "uncommon". Read it here.
And finally, one last translation:
"Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice." (The Message)
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