Tuesday, February 8, 2011

February 8 Crowned with Humility

Numbers 12:3 Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.

The first thing that came into my mind after reading this entry was that we are not humble because we take God for granted.

Then I remember years ago, a family member got very depressed because she felt like she was taken for granted. She felt as though people knew she would always do what was needed or expected, would always be giving, but she also felt as though no one appreciated or recognized her as doing anything special. She felt it was assumed she would be there serving others, and no one really cared about how she felt, about anything. She felt that she, as a person, did not really matter anymore.

Then I wondered how we make God feel. Not only do we take him for granted, I think, but we also are not all that grateful. My life is completely enveloped with Bible College. I come to work knowing that daily worship is going to be part of my routine. I know that prayer will be offered many times during the day - by me and by countless students and colleagues throughout the day. We talk about God here, about all the 'theologies" as a part of normal conversation, and as I have said many times, God is so familiar here, he can almost become part of the landscape.

We take him for granted; we lose perspective of who he is, and who we are in relationship to him. We can practice his presence, cultivating an awareness of him as someone who loves us, but we may than grow accustomed to that relationship, not astonished at that relationship.

Perhaps we need more "awe" in our lives. I think that is why I respond the way I do in beautiful church buildings, like Catholic Churches; the lines that draw the eye upward, and the beautiful scenes in the stained glass, the gold images all serve to create a vivid reminder of the majesty of God. I do know that people who go there all the time can become blind and used to them, but this environment settles me. Oh, I can't tell you the last time I was in a Catholic Church, just that even thinking of that environment as a place for worship settles me.

So, to the concept of humility...I think we must be aware of our propensity to take God for granted, and our giftedness and blessings. We must find ways to keep him in perspective - his love for us and his reality as God, the Supreme One by whom all things consist.

My mother would never let us sing one part of the song, "Do Lord or do Lord, oh do remember me....somewhere in it , is a line that calls or says the word "Lordy." She felt that was an offence, a disrespect to God. Similarly, we would never be allowed to say "Oh my God." as an exclamation. She felt we must respect God.

I wonder what OMG, letters written in facebook, in an email, a text, said out loud, do to the heart of God. I wonder how he feels about the way we take him for granted, leaving humility in the laundry room like a dirty old shirt.

No comments:

Post a Comment