Humility and Grace


The sacrifice acceptable to God 
is a broken and contrite spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, 
you will not despise.
                                    (Psalm 51:17)

How often do we approach God, when we do approach God at all, in the attitude of a broken spirit? Most of the time we go about our lives in a swaggering, self-centered way. After all, this is the attitude which spells success in the business world. Be confident to an extreme; be aggressive in your sales pitch; believe in yourself and in your mission; don't show signs of weakness; never admit to uncertainty.

Perhaps this way of living has netted you a neat six-figure salary and dozens of hits when you test out your fame on a search engine. But the sheer truth is that at the core of our being lies a broken spirit, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. No matter how hard we might work to project the appearance of perfection, we all fall short in God's eyes. There are as many different ways in which we fall into sin every day as there are people on earth. This is the reality of life. What good does it do to live in a state of denial of this condition of perpetual shortcoming?

Those who pray daily or enter confession either privately or in confidence with another probably experience on a regular basis the tremendous relief that comes from opening ourselves completely to God in all our brokenness. At my church, midweek Lenten services used to incorporate private confession in the meditative time following the formal close of the service until the line grew so long that it became prohibitive to include it; the pastor would have been there much of the night. 

But God desires that this attitude of humility of which Psalm 51 speaks be our constant attitude, not just the one we bring to God in prayer or confession. This doesn't mean that we can't still be successful in our jobs and lives. In fact, we will be much more successful simply because through our admission of imperfection we will be able to forge more meaningful relationships with those with whom we live and work. 

Few can identify with a person of shining success, but everyone knows what it is to sin and fall short in God's sight. The gift we can bring to each relationship is the confidence that, no matter how grievous our fault, God's mercy will continue to startle us and envelop us in a grace that is truly amazing. Thanks be to God!

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