Passion with Humility

"Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" (John 4:29)

I sense something important here in the way this woman chooses her words when excitedly sharing her wonder and awe at just meeting the Messiah of the world. I suppose that this impresses me because of the great tact that she displays in contrast with the lack of tact that I too often indulge in at times. Even though she is apparently completely convinced herself that the man she has just encountered is indeed the real Messiah, she does not allow her strong convictions to become a potential stumblingblock for others who have not yet had the same experience as she has had.

It is true also that this way of phrasing her thoughts seems to be something of a trait or even virtue in her, a pattern that already had a precedent for how she dealt with questions. When she previously was speaking with Jesus and wrestling with her growing perception that this man was maybe more important than she initially may have thought, she used the same sort of phrase when she asked Jesus if He was greater than her father Jacob. You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You?

Now she uses the same pattern of posing a question instead of making a strong assertion. This is not the Christ, is it? I find this way of communicating quite intriguing and given the way this story unfolds it also seems extremely compelling. It allows the recipients of the question the latitude and freedom to ponder something they had not thought about before without pressuring them or unduly inducing an argumentative reaction.

Having grown up in a culture that too often thrived on arguments and strong positions as a mark of being “in the truth”, I find this part of the story to be particularly instructive for me. Interestingly it seems that God wanted to reinforce this very point with me this morning for some reason because only minutes ago I just read a morning devotional that highlighted this very principle. It gave strong warnings against taking positions argumentatively against others within the body of Christ even if it is quite clear that my positions may be the right ones. Evidently the spirit gendered by this kind of confrontational way of relating to others is far more harmful and destructive to the work that God is doing in hearts than any good that I might suppose could come from proving that I am “right”.

But at the same time I also noticed that there was no suggestion that if I am secure or confident that what I have discovered is more accurate or in line with what is true than those who do not yet agree with me, that I am supposed to adopt their opinions or beliefs and discard my own just to achieve unity. That can at times appear to be the only two options when there are differences of opinions about what we might consider to be important points of doctrine or views on various topics. It often seems that either one side or the other has to concede that they are wrong and admit the other side is correct. But as I mature I realize that this simplistic, confrontational way of viewing truth is not God's desire for His people.

More and more it has been coming clear to me that God is much more concerned about the condition of my spirit and the effect my disposition has on the spirit of others around me than He is concerned that I always have the most accurate information. This sounds like heresy to many who are still entrenched in a confrontational mindset when it comes to religion, but it is the important truth about Jesus that God has been impressing me with more and more over time. As important as information and “truth” is to helping us come closer to knowing God rightly, if I allow my spirit to become infected with the spirit of the accuser then no matter how technically correct my information may be I am assisting and advancing the goals of the enemy instead of cooperating with God in the spread of His kingdom.

What I see in this story more clearly now is that this woman had a spirit that was more in line with what God has in relating to others than most religious people do, then or now. She not only had an open heart to take seriously new and challenging information that was very different than what she already believed, but she was also willing to not impose her new views on others in a spirit of superiority. She did not feel compelled to go to others who did not yet know Jesus and demand that they believe in Him without first checking Him out for themselves. She did not even express to them the full depth of her own beliefs like she might have done but left her new convictions hanging simply as a question to tantalize others to want to know more and seek out Jesus for themselves.

What a lesson for me personally! I see the amazing effectiveness of this way of relating to others as demonstrated in this story, but at the same time I realize that a lifetime of conditioning has not prepared me to do this naturally. My conditioned response to differences of opinion is to either avoid discussion at all or a tendency to take a strong stance and dig in my heels and insist that my way is the right way to view things and others just need to see it my way. Of course I don't like to be treated that way myself, but when I “know I am right” then I feel almost guilty if I don't “stand for the truth” as I can hear my father saying from many such encounters of his own in the past.

But again, the words of Jesus from just a few verses back resonate with both warning and enlightenment. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." It is not enough to just be right, I must more importantly reflect the Spirit of the One that I claim to belong to and to represent. For it is the spirit of a person that has the most influence for good or for evil, not the information that they may possess or be able to prove to others. As good as correct information may be, if the spirit is not right then the information can become poisoned and even prove to counteract what God is trying to do to save souls.

Father, train my own heart with this most important lesson of humility even while making me willing to be filled with the passion and excitement of new discoveries about You and Your character. Please heal me of my penchant for controversy and remove my stubbornness. Remind me that I don't have to surrender my convictions and newfound beliefs about You to keep peace among Your people but that my spirit needs to be under the complete control of Your Spirit so that others will be more attracted to You by the unspoken attitudes they see in me more than by the compelling logic I may be able to present. Continue to transform me into Your likeness and show me Your ways, for Your reputation's sake.