31 Days of December #3 - a guest post: Humility

This guest post made me think and the first photo made me smile. A beautiful start to life together.

My name is Jacob Von Kuhn. I am a newlywed, theological enthusiast, and aspiring ski bum (God willing). Photos from my FB albums.

“I can’t believe it’s not humility.”

With my bride Whitney

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Failure is a part of life. We do it daily, although many of us would cringe at the confession. So then why is failure so difficult for some to handle? On the contrary, why are some more wrecked by failure than others? Pride.

Being married has pointed out a lot of flaws in my life but it has also brought light to dark places I would have never seen before. Humility has always been one of those undistinguishable virtues without constant form or consistent characteristics; once you think you have your head wrapped around it you are too late. I think there are aspects of humility which are hardly discussed from the pulpit of which can lead to be misconstrued and an extremely fragile façade of false humility.

Dependence on friends along the way

“One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” Proverbs 29:23, ESV

No one ever wants to confront a person on being too hard on themselves. Nor would it seem proper to confront that person about having pride issues. But that is just it; pride is our inability to recognize our absolute dependence on God’s grace and provision.

The irony to humility is the longer we stay knocked down, the more pride we have yet to deal with. We linger on our failure because our pride has been pushed to an unbelievable breaking point and, instead of fighting the giant face to face, we would rather reminisce in our self-inflated pride. Christianity can surely talk the talk, but pride is our biggest obstacle when we go to walk the walk. Instead, we should recognize that we fail because we strive for perfection, because we strive to be like Christ.

Advice from good friends

So next time you receive advice, receive it with joy. Next time you miss the expectations, take heart. If you are offended and feel every right in the world to wallow in your sorrow and self-pity, remember The Cross.

“Count it all joy, my brothers,^b when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” 1 James 1:2-4