There's God, and Then There's People

My pastor and mentor Joel Dombrow is a very wise man. Joel was my youth pastor when I was really getting to know Jesus in high school, and when he moved on to take the Lead Pastor position at Willamette Christian Church, I remember being sad to see him go but happy for him to be meeting his potential. In one of the first sermons I heard him give as Lead Pastor at WCC, I remember him speaking out of James 1 saying, "There's no better people. There's God, and then there's people." He used his hands to show God being above and everyone else below him, inferring that there were no ranks of humans but that all fall short of God and his holiness.

Today, Joel is my pastor as I have transitioned to Willamette Christian Church for this season of my life. I love sitting under Joel's teaching and it's been very fun to work along side him again. In his sermon today out of Nehemiah 9, which is essentially a two page prayer of thanksgiving and praise from the Israelites after they realize their sins, Joel read the entire chapter out loud and had the congregation do a great exercise.

As he read all 38 verses, he had us separate our notes into two columns: On the left hand side, we were to write words the Israelites used to describe God in their lengthy prayer. On the right hand side, we were to write how they characterized people and the words they used. Here's just some of what I wrote down:

GOD:
Blessed, creator, life giver, LORD, freer of the captives, righteous, leaders, light giver, judge, giver of good laws, commander, slow to anger, giver of food, forgiver, compassionate, never-abandoning, knowledgeable, sustainer of life and the earth, grace giver, deliverer, merciful, covenant keeper, just, faithful.

PEOPLE:
arrogant, stif-necked, disobedient, rebellious, idolaters, receivers of God's gifts, prophet killers, blasphemers, oppressed, criers, comfortable with evil, sinners, refusers of listening, unjust, unfaithful, slaves.

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. Great, another time I'm going to hear how I'm a filthy sinner going to hell. I didn't view it like that. As I was furiously writing, I began to think that we are only those things listed above when compared to God. When we are far away from God, distant and stubborn in our own ways, we actually look okay. Because humans, on their own, can get away with a lot. However, putting God in the picture changes everything. And in the end, putting yourself next to animals and each other shows you very little. In order to truly reveal the human's potential, you must know God.

Look at it like this: my nephew Ethan is a strong kid. Well, his teachers say that he's a strong kid. He's a solid athlete and runs well. He's also smart. His teachers compliment him on his reading and math abilities. He knows what he's doing. He's also 7. And when you put me in a room with him, I can break his neck, do long division, and drive a car. He doesn't stand a chance next to me. Next to all of his classmates and peers, the kid looks smart and strong. But bring in a person outside of his potential, from a totally new category of development, and the opinion of Ethan's wit and strength totally changes.

When we compare humans with humans and humans with animals it's easy to conclude that we're pretty awesome. We're giving people. We're honest. We're charitable. We're kind. We love one another. We care about the world. But in reality, the knowledge, strength, grace, and compassion of the creator God makes us look very different.

Joel ended with a great line: "To be proud is to not know God. Humility is not about turning away in cowardice, it's about understanding who God really is."