| By Rev. Mark E. Vatcher |
| “Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.” Proverbs 3:34 |
Let me start by sharing a story I read that helped me humble myself. I reflect back on it when I
feel pride overcoming me. As far as I know the story is true, some of the details may have
changed over the years, but basically it’s a story about an event that really happened.
Many years ago, a lady in an old looking dress and her husband, dressed in a slightly worn out
looking suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly without an appointment into the
president’s outer office at Harvard University. The secretary could tell in a moment that such
backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably did not even deserve to be in
Cambridge let alone Harvard. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said. "He’ll
be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We’ll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary
ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They did
not. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. "Maybe if
they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave," she pleaded to him. And he sighed in
exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance did not have the time to spend with them,
but he detested country hicks cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with
dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for
one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was killed in an
accident. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."
The president was not touched; he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can’t put up a
statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a
cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we
would like to have a building built for Harvard." The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the
gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea
how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars worth of buildings at
Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them
now. Then the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to build a
university? Why don’t we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president’s face wilted
in confusion and bewilderment as the couple thanked him and walked away. Soon they were in
California establishing a university as a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about,
Leland Stanford, Jr.
The president of Harvard learned the hard way not to judge the worth of a person by what
appears on the surface. Humility is a great gift. The scriptures time and time again relate how
God loves the humble. From Zephaniah, "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have
observed his law; seek justice, seek humility;" and "I will leave as a remnant in your midst a
people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord: the remnant of Israel."
And from (Psalm 146) "The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. “From (Corinthians) "Think of
what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise, not many influential, and
surely not many well-born. God chose the absurd to shame the wise; he singled out the weak to
shame the strong. He chose the lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to
nothing those who were something.” Finally, from Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the
Mount: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." God does not judge a person’s
worth by external appearances. God does not judge a person by surface or extraneous things like
clothes, accent, skin color, the length of one’s hair, or the thickness of one’s wallet. Neither does
God judge a person by the success they have achieved in this world. The scripture tells how God
reaches out with love and healing and blessings to the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, the
blind, strangers, orphans, widows, the weak, the despised, the sorrowing, and the persecuted.
Jesus illustrated this with his whole life, befriending tax collectors, prostitutes, beggars, Romans,
fishermen, Samaritans. God judges us. He uses a different standard than that of this world. And
while we do not judge outright (only God does that) we do judge each other which I must say is
not an ultimate judgment but a physical and material judgment. It is necessary to make good
decisions in our lives. It’s up to us to hold up the standard God expresses through the
scriptures. Let’s look to the scriptures and try to detect God’s standard. First, (Zephaniah) "Seek
the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice," and "They shall
do no wrong and speak no lies." From the (Psalm) "The Lord loves the just, ... but the way of the
wicked he thwarts." And to all those low-life’s in Corinth, Paul says, "God it is who has given you
life in Christ Jesus. He is our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption." In
other words, "When you were called, you were nothing, but by accepting that call you have
become holy, set apart by God to do His good works on earth." Finally, in the Sermon on the
Mount, it is not just the poor and meek whom are blessed, but also the merciful, the pure in
heart, and the peacemakers. And it isn’t those who are persecuted for any old reason that are
blessed, but those who are persecuted for the sake of holiness, and because of Jesus. It is not
those who go along to get along, but those who stand up for Jesus who are told, "Be glad and
rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great." So God does have standards. And so must we. Ours
is not an "anything goes" religion. "But," you say, "Is not God infinitely merciful? Does not He
forgive us all our sins?" Yes, He is, and yes, He does. But being a Christian does not mean being
baptized and then going on living like it does not matter. Being a Christian means giving our life
to God and letting Him control it. It means living according to His will, not our own. Now, we are
never going to succeed completely. That’s where forgiveness comes in. But we at least have to
try! That’s the standard. You at least have to try.
When we read scriptures like those I quoted today, some of us come away with the message that
God is an inclusive God who embraces all manner of rabble. Some will think from this that God
has a preference for the poor. Others will come away with the message that God is a holy God
who embraces the pure in heart and is fire on evil-doers. Both are true. Neither by itself is
complete. This is a complex message, this Gospel of ours. If we are a success in this life, we must
worry that maybe we have compromised too much. If we are proud of our accomplishments,
perhaps we have not humbled ourselves sufficiently to God: "Let him, who would boast, boast in
the LORD." If we are among the dregs of society and, because of it, are bitter and unhappy and
resentful, perhaps we have not succumbed to the mercy and grace and joy which God pours out
upon the likes of us, but persist in shutting Him out with our stubborn pride. If we persist in
what we know to be sinful ways, if we ignore the call to holiness, if we seldom attend church, if
we’re always too busy to pray or read the scriptures or go to a service or visit the sick or perform
works of mercy, then perhaps we have committed too little to Christ. Perhaps, in our pride, we
have refused to humble ourselves to God. Becoming a Christian is more than undergoing a ritual.
It’s more than identifying with a denomination. It’s more than membership in a church. It’s more
than being a "good person." Being a Christian is nothing less than humbling ourselves before
God, putting God at the very center of our lives, putting ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus
Christ, asking about every decision "What would Jesus do?" and making those decisions as if
they mattered, because they do. This is not subjecting us to a life of misery, boredom, and
deprivation. It is rather opening us up to a life of joy and peace and happiness. "Blessed are they
who hunger and thirst for holiness. They shall have their fill." Jesus told us that he came that we
might have life, and have it abundantly.
Let us examine our consciences, confess our sins to God, and receive forgiveness, God’s
forgiveness of all our past sins. Let us at this time, in humility, commit to reform our lives, put
Jesus in the drivers seat, and become among the pure in heart who will see God. Then let us
leave renewed in the Spirit, reborn to a life of service to God and God’s people. You belong to
God. Will you give yourself to Him? Do it now, completely and without reservation. The joy of the
life of grace awaits you brethren.
feel pride overcoming me. As far as I know the story is true, some of the details may have
changed over the years, but basically it’s a story about an event that really happened.
Many years ago, a lady in an old looking dress and her husband, dressed in a slightly worn out
looking suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly without an appointment into the
president’s outer office at Harvard University. The secretary could tell in a moment that such
backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably did not even deserve to be in
Cambridge let alone Harvard. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said. "He’ll
be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We’ll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary
ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They did
not. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. "Maybe if
they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave," she pleaded to him. And he sighed in
exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance did not have the time to spend with them,
but he detested country hicks cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with
dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for
one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was killed in an
accident. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."
The president was not touched; he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can’t put up a
statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a
cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we
would like to have a building built for Harvard." The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the
gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea
how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars worth of buildings at
Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them
now. Then the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to build a
university? Why don’t we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president’s face wilted
in confusion and bewilderment as the couple thanked him and walked away. Soon they were in
California establishing a university as a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about,
Leland Stanford, Jr.
The president of Harvard learned the hard way not to judge the worth of a person by what
appears on the surface. Humility is a great gift. The scriptures time and time again relate how
God loves the humble. From Zephaniah, "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have
observed his law; seek justice, seek humility;" and "I will leave as a remnant in your midst a
people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord: the remnant of Israel."
And from (Psalm 146) "The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. “From (Corinthians) "Think of
what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise, not many influential, and
surely not many well-born. God chose the absurd to shame the wise; he singled out the weak to
shame the strong. He chose the lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing, to reduce to
nothing those who were something.” Finally, from Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the
Mount: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." God does not judge a person’s
worth by external appearances. God does not judge a person by surface or extraneous things like
clothes, accent, skin color, the length of one’s hair, or the thickness of one’s wallet. Neither does
God judge a person by the success they have achieved in this world. The scripture tells how God
reaches out with love and healing and blessings to the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, the
blind, strangers, orphans, widows, the weak, the despised, the sorrowing, and the persecuted.
Jesus illustrated this with his whole life, befriending tax collectors, prostitutes, beggars, Romans,
fishermen, Samaritans. God judges us. He uses a different standard than that of this world. And
while we do not judge outright (only God does that) we do judge each other which I must say is
not an ultimate judgment but a physical and material judgment. It is necessary to make good
decisions in our lives. It’s up to us to hold up the standard God expresses through the
scriptures. Let’s look to the scriptures and try to detect God’s standard. First, (Zephaniah) "Seek
the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice," and "They shall
do no wrong and speak no lies." From the (Psalm) "The Lord loves the just, ... but the way of the
wicked he thwarts." And to all those low-life’s in Corinth, Paul says, "God it is who has given you
life in Christ Jesus. He is our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption." In
other words, "When you were called, you were nothing, but by accepting that call you have
become holy, set apart by God to do His good works on earth." Finally, in the Sermon on the
Mount, it is not just the poor and meek whom are blessed, but also the merciful, the pure in
heart, and the peacemakers. And it isn’t those who are persecuted for any old reason that are
blessed, but those who are persecuted for the sake of holiness, and because of Jesus. It is not
those who go along to get along, but those who stand up for Jesus who are told, "Be glad and
rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great." So God does have standards. And so must we. Ours
is not an "anything goes" religion. "But," you say, "Is not God infinitely merciful? Does not He
forgive us all our sins?" Yes, He is, and yes, He does. But being a Christian does not mean being
baptized and then going on living like it does not matter. Being a Christian means giving our life
to God and letting Him control it. It means living according to His will, not our own. Now, we are
never going to succeed completely. That’s where forgiveness comes in. But we at least have to
try! That’s the standard. You at least have to try.
When we read scriptures like those I quoted today, some of us come away with the message that
God is an inclusive God who embraces all manner of rabble. Some will think from this that God
has a preference for the poor. Others will come away with the message that God is a holy God
who embraces the pure in heart and is fire on evil-doers. Both are true. Neither by itself is
complete. This is a complex message, this Gospel of ours. If we are a success in this life, we must
worry that maybe we have compromised too much. If we are proud of our accomplishments,
perhaps we have not humbled ourselves sufficiently to God: "Let him, who would boast, boast in
the LORD." If we are among the dregs of society and, because of it, are bitter and unhappy and
resentful, perhaps we have not succumbed to the mercy and grace and joy which God pours out
upon the likes of us, but persist in shutting Him out with our stubborn pride. If we persist in
what we know to be sinful ways, if we ignore the call to holiness, if we seldom attend church, if
we’re always too busy to pray or read the scriptures or go to a service or visit the sick or perform
works of mercy, then perhaps we have committed too little to Christ. Perhaps, in our pride, we
have refused to humble ourselves to God. Becoming a Christian is more than undergoing a ritual.
It’s more than identifying with a denomination. It’s more than membership in a church. It’s more
than being a "good person." Being a Christian is nothing less than humbling ourselves before
God, putting God at the very center of our lives, putting ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus
Christ, asking about every decision "What would Jesus do?" and making those decisions as if
they mattered, because they do. This is not subjecting us to a life of misery, boredom, and
deprivation. It is rather opening us up to a life of joy and peace and happiness. "Blessed are they
who hunger and thirst for holiness. They shall have their fill." Jesus told us that he came that we
might have life, and have it abundantly.
Let us examine our consciences, confess our sins to God, and receive forgiveness, God’s
forgiveness of all our past sins. Let us at this time, in humility, commit to reform our lives, put
Jesus in the drivers seat, and become among the pure in heart who will see God. Then let us
leave renewed in the Spirit, reborn to a life of service to God and God’s people. You belong to
God. Will you give yourself to Him? Do it now, completely and without reservation. The joy of the
life of grace awaits you brethren.
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