Sin #3

Lately I have been asking God to reveal my sins to me so that I can repent of them. And actually, it hasn't been that bad. I actually felt a lot of relief when I confessed numbers 1 and 2 to my roommates.

You guys get to hear about number 3.

Arrogance.

Yes, pride. It's at the root of all sin. We all struggle with this one. But recently, I have come to realize a new aspect of my arrogance....here goes... I look down on other people a lot. Ugh. That feels so grose. I just sometimes think that because other people do not have the same worldview that I have that they are wrong.

I get to hang out with old people twice a week at my internship. They aren't that old, probably my parents' age, but that is a lot older than what I am used to. Anyways, I sometimes look past their wisdom because of their lack of passion.

My generation is really passionate. Like, we just want to do something to change the world! We wear t-shirts to tell everyone that we know about starvation in Africa. We have bumper stickers about human trafficking in Asia. We purchase products to make a difference. Some really passionate people even help the homeless in their own cities! (I hope that you sense my irony).

Sometimes I think that all of the Christians in my generation want to be prophets. We want to be the ones proclaiming the truths of the Lord. I even think that we have an idealized view of persecution. Persecution is radical. It's extreme. That is the way that we want to live.

But then I wonder...Do we want to be prophets because we want to be extremists for God's name? Are we acting on behalf of the Kingdom? Do we live radically with Gospel intentions?

I don't think so.

I think that we are living for ourselves.

We buy Tom's shoes in order to help a kid in need--- but we get our own trendy shoes out of the deal. We sponsor kids in Asia because they are hungry--- and we want to hang the picture on our refrigerators and get a cute letter once in a while. Or maybe you buy a water well for a village in Africa--- because you feel guilty for buying a new _______.

We like to be able to pat ourselves on the back at the end of the day. There is something appealing about helping others in a tangible way. And there is nothing wrong with helping the less fortunate...in fact, helping a brother in need is commanded by God (1 John 3:17).

So, let's re-cap. Sin #3 is arrogance. And I am one of those who wants to be a prophet... often just for the thrill of it.

But I am realizing that there is something that God desires more than just a prophetic voice shouting truths about him. He wants humble servants.

Those old people that I am talking about, they are humble servants. Actually, they are passionate humble servants. They are passionate about God, not themselves. It may come off to me as stale or boring, but when I get to know their hearts, I can see that they really want to serve God, no matter what their lives look like.

So this blog post is an apology for all of those times that I have looked at older people and thought that they were dull. Thank you to those of you who have put yourselves aside for humble service to our King. I look foreword to gaining from your wisdom and passion.