A Shout Out to HUMILITY: I’m old enough to understand now.

I would love to see us celebrate humility as passionately as we are celebrating pride.

June marked the annual beginning of PRIDE month, a thirty-day celebration that initially began as a means of paying homage to the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan.

The Stonewall Uprising occurred in June 1969 after the New York City police department raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. A series of spontaneous protests erupted into six days of rioting and ignited the gay rights movement.

Personally, having spent a good chunk of my life thinking everything revolved around me, I think our world needs a HUMILITY month more than we need a month that says “hey, look at me.” Pride directs the finger at me. Humility points us to God.

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2 (New Living Translation)

I understand how difficult of a time people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) have had over centuries. I have friends who practice same-sex attraction and I see people everyday through my work with the homeless who struggle with their sexual identity.

Admittedly, I struggle with this normalization of what I understand God calls sin. But that’s true for sin in general. And I am a sinner—saved by grace through faith. Being a believer doesn’t mean I’m sinless or perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Sin is nothing to be prideful about, regardless of the nature of the sin.

I recognize that this is both a controversial and counter-cultural opinion. Please hear me when I say that there is no judgment or condemnation here. Jesus teaches me to treat others like I want to be treated and to love my neighbors. Even when we disagree. After all, God demonstrated His love for me while I was at odds with Him.

At the end of the day, all people matter and have value. People should be treated with love, kindness, and respect. Admittedly, as Christians, our witness to our neighbors has been lacking and continues to leave a lot of room for improvement. However, I believe it’s possible to move forward without celebrating unrighteousness.

According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-god state of mind.

C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity

The other day, I was checking out Kendrick Lamar’s new album “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” which includes a song titled “Auntie Diaries.”

To be clear, while my music taste is superlatively eclectic, rap is not something I listen to much these days. Certainly, not as often as I once did. However, Kendrick Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize winning artist, is a master of his craft and an influential creative voice. And let’s face it, rap and hip-hop have played a crucial role in our society for decades. So, yeah, I’m going to check out what Lamar is putting out.

The first few verses of “Auntie Diaries” starts out with the lyric:

“My auntie is a man now
I think I’m old enough to understand now”

In the song, Lamar comes to terms with his transgender aunt. Or at least he tries to. On one side, the critics of the song point out their perceived shortcomings of Lamar’s revelation. On the other side, people are up in arms because of the continued normalization of an admittedly different lifestyle.

Here’s the deal—I confess that apparently I am still not old enough to understand. But, I am willing to try my best to love you as you are and where you are because that’s where Jesus started with me. He loved me as I was, not only for who He knew I could be. Thankfully, God’s plan for my life far exceeded anything I could ever imagine.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20 (New Living Testament)

We don’t need more pride but greater humility. Humility calls me to have a more modest view of myself in relationship to others. Spiritually, humility strives to redirect the focus from me toward God. For apart from Christ, I am unable to do anything good or righteous. Humility recognizes that He is my higher power.

If you’re gay, I love you. If you’re straight, I love you. I’m just a man trying to do the best he can to live in such a way that brings God all the honor, praise, and glory due His great name.

Collectively, our testimonies—the stories of how God transformed us individually through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit—serve as the signs, wonders, and miracles of this present age. Walk them well. You may be the only Bible anyone ever reads.

May the Lord shine His favor down upon you today. I value your engagement, so please feel free to share your thoughts and comments. If you enjoyed reading this post click “like” if you feel the Spirit so move you. 

Blessings,

The Devotional Guy™

Bible Gateway

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