cynicism

A friend wrote this. It might be one of the most convicting and poignant things I've ever read. It put 10,000 spotlights on my pride.

Disturb Us, O Lord

Sir Francis Drake:

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to shore.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly to venture on wider seas where storms show Your mastery; where losing sight of land we shall find stars. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; we ask You to [lead us into] a future of strength, courage, hope and love.

the human condition

humble?

I hate, I despise, I loathe masked piety. I detest the jerk in the mirror every morning. The venemous viper of pride seems to always lurk in God's garden of my soul. Why can't other people see?! Are they blind?! Why don't they think?! Am I the only one who knows what's going on here?!?! He resists the Jim, oops, I mean the proud; He gives grace to the humble. I can't be counted among that number - the humble!

Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! He has done it all! He found me in my sin. He is my substitute. He has given me of His Spirit. He bought me with a price. I am His and He is mine. His mercy is new every morning. I cannot cause the reservoir of "grace upon grace" to every be emptied of the smallest drop. I have died with Jesus. I have risen with Jesus.

Herein lies my humility.

america's most sinful cities

On Valentine's Day, Forbes Magazine gave us a list of America's most sinful cities. Their opening line is: "They say geography is destiny, but perhaps it is damnation as well." Our good buddy, Al Mohler, comments on it here.

Most Lustful: Denver ranked first, joined by San Antonio, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Boise, Washington, DC, Cincinnati, Columbus, Baltimore and Buffalo/Rochester. The research firm of AC Nielson used sales figures for contraceptives and sex items in ranking the list.

Most Jealous: Memphis tops the list, followed by Charlotte, San Antonio, Seattle, Providence, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Columbus, Oklahoma City, Chicago. The rankings were linked to crime rates for personal property.

Most Obese: Memphis, Birmingham, San Antonio, Riverside/San Bernardino, Detroit, Jacksonville, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, San Diego. Health statistics drove this listing.

Most Greedy: San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Boston, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington, Miami. The rankings on this sin were determined by looking at the concentration of great wealth.

Most Murderous: The crime statistics are clear - the most murderous city is Detroit, followed by Baltimore, New Orleans, Newark, St. Louis, Oakland, Washington DC, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Buffalo.

Most Slothful: Memphis tops this list as well, followed by New Orleans, Las Vegas, Detroit, Birmingham, Louisville, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Miami.

Most Vain: "Pride is supposed to be a deadly sin. When it comes to their looks, however, fewer Americans are seeing it that way," say the reporters, who used plastic surgery as the marker for this sin. Perhaps surprisingly, Salt Lake City ranked first, followed by San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Miami, Louisville, Nashville, Virginia Beach, New York, and Los Angeles.

LEARN TO HATE YOUR PRIDE

I have no idea what the rest of the sermon was about, but once when I was little, I remember my dad saying in one of his sermons that pride was the national religion of hell. Strong picture, eh? I also recall someone saying that below every virtue lies humility and below every vice hides pride. My good and dead friend Jonathan Edwards also has good words here:

Remember that pride is the worst viper that is in the heart, the greatest disturber of the soul’s peace and of sweet communion with Christ. It was the first sin committed and lies lowest in the foundation of Satan’s whole building, and is with the greatest difficulty rooted out, and is the most hidden, secret, and deceitful of all lusts, and often creeps insensibly into the midst of religion, even, sometimes, under the disguise of humility itself.