Loving Stupid People
On resisting superiority and pride
“Jesus was particularly concerned about the ‘outer ring,’ those who lack social prestige and influence…”
Thomas Schreiner
“Jesus not only ministers to the marginalized; He builds His new kingdom around them. He pursues the lowly, showing that God is not impressed with our worldly credentials.”
Craig Keener
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I don’t think we talk about pride enough.
Not pride in the world, but pride inside the church.
The pride I am talking about is not arrogant leaders at the front, reveling in a kingdom they have built for themselves; that’s too easy. I mean the more insidious pride that rests in our own hearts.
This pride is the pride of superiority.
It can be the superiority of church history that sounds like, “These shallow non-denominational evangelicals; they don’t know church history or have the historical credentials we do. Shallow, shallow, shallow.”
It can be the superiority of political opinion that sounds like, “These Conservatives/Progressives are idiots. No one with a brain would ever think like that.
They are sheep.”
It can be the pride of effort: “Look at all these lazy people. None of them works as hard as I do. If everyone had my work ethic, the world would be a better place.”
You can raise a lot of money by cultivating superiority in people and judging others. It’s easy to build a movement of what you’re against. The flesh and sinful nature love pride disguised as conviction.
I must constantly fight this kind of subtle pride getting into my head. Strangely, the older I get, the more tempting it seems. There is so much division and opinion that it’s hard not to moralize everything.
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I am glad that Jesus was a humble man.
Philippians 2 is a punch in the throat to a prideful man: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
Value others above yourself? What on earth …
It’s important to remember that the people who caused Jesus the most problems in His ministry were those who were full of spiritual pride.
“We are Abraham’s children,” the Pharisees said.
“Thank God I am not like this tax collector,” the Pharisee prayed.
“If He were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman this is,” critiqued the Pharisee.
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REMINDER
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
While examining my heart and repenting of some contempt I felt creeping in, I came across this quote from New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. It hit me in the gut.
“Do you think the way to sanctity is to lock yourself up with your prayers and your books and the meditations that please and interest your mind, to protect yourself, with many walls, against people you consider stupid? Do you think the way to contemplation is found in the refusal of activities and works which are necessary for the good of others but which happen to bore and distract you?
Do you imagine that you will discover God by winding yourself up in a cocoon of spiritual and aesthetic pleasures, instead of renouncing all your tastes and desires and ambitions and satisfactions for the love of Christ, Who will not even live within you if you cannot find Him in other men?”
That line hit me so hard: “…people you consider stupid.”
Who do you consider stupid in the world today?
Where has superiority or contempt snuck into your heart?
How have you sought to avoid the stupid people you disagree with?
The truth is, we are the stupid ones, and Jesus didn’t build walls to keep us out. Jesus loved spending time with stupid people; they are really the only kind of people He has. The church is full of stupid people.
Grace is for stupid people.
Mercy is for stupid people.
We are the stupid ones that Jesus loves.
It’s stupid to think that what’s wrong with the world is everyone else and not us.
It’s stupid to think we are better than those we judge.
It’s stupid to categorize people the same way the world does and let that divide us.
C.S. Lewis reminds us, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
I want to be a humble man. A man who overlooks the faults of others, who remembers how much mercy I have received and how many stupid things I have thought and done over the years.
I’m grateful that Jesus loves stupid people, stupid people like me.
I’ll see you out there, hopefully growing in humility and gratitude.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers.
Jon.
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Discussion Questions:
What hit you the hardest from this week’s email? Why?
Most men build identity and community around tribal belonging (theology, class, race, politics). But it also creates enemies we dismiss or judge when they are unlike us. Being honest, who in your life has you classified as stupid, and how did they come to fit into that category in your mind?
Schreiner says Jesus was “particularly concerned about the outer ring.”Who is in the outer ring of your church, your neighborhood, your social circle, and who is one person you can move towards instead of away from this week?
C.S. Lewis says the proud man is always looking down, and that looking down makes it impossible to see what is above you. What might you be missing about God and other people because contempt has narrowed your field of vision?
Philippians 2 says to “value others above yourself.” What would it look like to truly value someone you find difficult, irritating, or ideologically opposed to you this week?
Thank you for such a loving and direct invitation to repentance. I needed to read this and move in this direction of humility. 🙏🏽
Yikes. This one is great. Thank you.