Walking With Christ

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.(ESV)

It’s pretty easy for most people to understand the principle in this verse.  Puffing oneself up to an unreasonable level or pushing oneself beyond their true capabilities is a quick way to find trouble.  “Get down off your high horse” is a saying I heard a lot of people using as I was growing up.  It’s easy to understand how this type of person might stumble, and it’s almost excusable that society loves to see such a person fall.  The “hold my beer and watch this” category of videos is all about epic fails when somebody tries to show off and it goes horribly wrong for them.  There is a whole industry around this kind of video.  It’s almost like people are hardwired to get enjoyment out of watching someone fail after arrogantly calling their shot like Babe Ruth did.

I think a lot of human society can be understood better by examining this facet of human nature.  Two perspectives.

The Arrogant:

Most of society can agree that the people who climb up on the high places and are arrogant about their ability to do so deserve what happens when they eventually find the limits of their ability.  This is the part where we all look in the mirror and ask why it’s such great entertainment.  This exposes a much deeper aspect of human nature than many people realize.  How people honestly react to seeing this kind of behavior is telling.

First, the novelty of someone doing something new and dangerous is only because the people watching never thought it possible themselves.  If they had believed it possible then they would be the ones doing it.  In many cases, it might seem possible, but difficult or dangerous, which points to the self-imposed limitations of the crowd.  It’s the jealousy aspect that brings enjoyment to the this type of person when they see someone fail to do the things that they thought were impossible.

Second, anything that points out the cage we have built for ourselves is an extreme personal attack on who we are as individuals.  “I’m comfortable in my cage until someone points out that I’m in a cage.”  This mentality prevents a lot of people from being bold or brave enough to even attempt to do the things that are outside of their comfort zone.  This comfort zone becomes a self made prison.  It’s original design and intent were to keep the occupant safe, but what it actually does it to prevent them from truly living a free life with no boundaries and no regrets.

Third, anyone who is willing to try to do those things that are thought to be difficult or even impossible is often viewed as stupid or foolish by those who refuse to even try.  It is better to insult them and view them as “less than” because to think otherwise would be to admit our own limitations.  The idea that anyone could be or would be better than us is a difficult thing to truly grasp.  This is why people tend to get such enjoyment from watching others fail.  This reenforces the idea that “nobody is better than me” which deepens the idea that we have no need to change.

The Innocent:

                There are those among us who are placed on pedestals despite their own best efforts.  They do not have any desire to brag about their accomplishments or be viewed as better or smarter than anyone else.  It is, perhaps, this more than anything else that causes such a person to be placed on the very pedestals they would choose to avoid.  These are the people who get idolized by others.  It’s one thing to climb up on the pedestal and shout for everyone to look at what you’ve done.  It’s entirely different to actively avoid the spotlight yet still find oneself on such a lofty perch.

                I idolized my dad.  He was my end all and be all hero for all of my childhood.  He could do no wrong, and I got in more than a few fights on that subject.  He could have said or done just about anything and I would have found a way to justify it.  This never had anything to do with him claiming to be right or perfect.  He never claimed any sort of infallibility.  In fact, he often claimed to love being proven wrong because it gave him an opportunity to learn.

Reflections:

Pedestals are dangerous places to be.  We, society, gets such joy out of seeing people fall from a pedestal they had the nerve to climb.  It also hurts that much more when a chosen pedestal occupant falls from the grace of being placed on such a pedestal.  This second category is a moment of sorrowful reflection for society because there is no one else to blame for the faulty person being on the pedestal than the ones who put them there.  This holds a mirror up to society as if to point out the decision making flaws for even our own chosen saints.

This is the exact same problem that cause the children of Israel to choose Saul as their first king rather than living freely under the direct hand of God.  This is the exact same mentality that led to the creation of the Tower of Babel.  The divide between the holiness of God and the carnal nature of humanity is such that it breaks our minds and spirits to fully acknowledge our inability to be any kind of good, let alone to achieve His divine standard.  The fact that a person would choose to climb the pedestal immediately tells the audience that this person is not worthy of the position, and so, we laugh when they find out.  The fact that we can, as a person or group, choose an individual among us to stand on the pedestal for judgement only to have that person fail with 100% guarantee means that even collectively we are not capable of determining what is good enough.

Yet, we keep trying to find that one perfect paragon.  We keep wanting so badly to find that one person among us who can be good enough on their own.  It’s a vain attempt at reconciliation.

The worst part of it all is that when we did find one person among us who could fit the standard, we killed Him because we couldn’t accept the truth of who He was.  He was/is fully human.  He was/is fully God.  We cannot be that.  We cannot be God.  Our rejection of Christ is the misguided and confused attempt to do on our own what was never meant for us to do.  We reject the hand of God when we’re drowning and know that we can’t swim.

Jeremiah 17:5  This is what the Lord says:  “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.(ESV)

God alone is worthy of being on the pedestal.  When are we going to stop trying to replace Him there?