SOMT 5: The Gospel of Criticism

5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
-Mt. 5:5

When was the last time you used the word "meek" in a sentence? Other versions translate it differently--humble, gentle, etc. There is a difficulty in ascertaining how Jesus wishes us to take this word and the difficulty stems from the same basic problem we encounter when trying to understand the beatitudes as a whole. Is Jesus saying, "this is what you must be like if you are to be blessed" or is he simply saying "these are the kinds of people who will be blessed"? If it is the latter then the emphasis in each verse may not so much be that the so described is a characteristic for which we are to strive. Some translate "meek" as "humble" and this helps to highlight the problem.

For much of the Greek and Roman worlds there were two great classes the "honestiores" and the "humiliores." The former were the well off and the latter were the poor, the marginalized, the afflicted. This is the origin of the word "humble" which we now more frequently take as an essential part of Christian character for which we should strive rather than a description of the marginalized. The reason for this confusion, I believe, highlights the essential conflict between the principles of this world and the principles of the Kingdom of God. The cold, hard fact is that being humble is not the way to succeed in this world. Being humble is precisely the way to find yourself being marginalized. Just one glance at how presidential candidates run their campaigns makes this clear. Humility requires admitting fault-- something no candidate can risk doing. Americans don't want a president they've had to forgive. But in the Kingdom of God the greatest are those who have been forgiven of much. So I think Jesus is both describing those who will be blessed and calling us to the character of the blessed.

But humility is more than admitting fault. Within Christian circles admitting fault is a way to appear humble. But the true test of humility is how we respond when someone else criticizes our character. I don't have much of a problem walking around church telling people I'm selfish--it makes me look like a nice humble pastor. But it's a totally different story if someone else tells me this. We respond in one of two ways, we either get proud and defensive, or we put on a "woe is me, I'm horrible, I'm not good enough, nobody loves me" attitude. And as Bill McKinney pointed out the other day, the latter response is just as much a response of pride as is the former. When we say to ourselves "I'm so bad, I can't do anything right, woe is me" what we are really saying is "I think I'm BETTER than that and can't believe I did that (or can't believe others think I did)." But true Christian humility stems from the understanding that no, you're not better than that, and don't fool yourself into thinking you are or should be. Christian humility neither pridefully defends nor pridefully self-pities but asks God for the grace to forgive and change.

This allows us to see criticism in a whole new light. Every criticism against your character is really a presentation of the gospel. Every time someone calls you out on something, what they are really saying is “you need Jesus.” So thank your worst critic for being such a wonderful evangelist.