“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2
How beautifully this verse unveils the great paradox that the heavenly-minded are of the most earthly use, while the earthly minded are of no use at all. Heavenly thoughts humble us by putting the gaze of our soul on the One above. Earthly thoughts elevate the ego, replacing the One above with ourselves. Humility exalts the heart, while pride degrades the soul. Everything within sinful man cries out, “I must be known,’ yet how quickly our natural desire to be known twists, turns, and transforms into the insatiable desire to be adored.
In 1989 The Stone Roses wrote a mesmerizing song titled “I wanna be adored.” In it their front man Ian Brown sings these disturbing words: “I don’t need to sell my soul / he is already in me / I wanna be adored”. It’s as if he is saying I have given myself so totally over to the devilry of pride that I must be worshiped. Now I know that just seems like a flamboyant and flippant lyric of some brash young rock star, but the bottom line is our celebrities are always expressing blatantly what all of us secretly desire.
What we need is an accurate picture of ourselves. Only then will we be on the path to humility. An unknown mystic in The Cloud of Unknowing writes that “Humility is nothing else but a true knowledge and awareness of oneself as one really is.” When we look up at the Cross, we allow Jesus to shine in and show us the depths of our depravity and the depth of His grace. When our hopes are fixed on things of this world we degrade our souls with the lie that we can be our own God.
May we remember the words of Thomas Kempis, “The Saints who are highest in God’s sight are the least in their own.”
I Wanna be Adored
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2
How beautifully this verse unveils the great paradox that the heavenly-minded are of the most earthly use, while the earthly minded are of no use at all. Heavenly thoughts humble us by putting the gaze of our soul on the One above. Earthly thoughts elevate the ego, replacing the One above with ourselves. Humility exalts the heart, while pride degrades the soul. Everything within sinful man cries out, “I must be known,’ yet how quickly our natural desire to be known twists, turns, and transforms into the insatiable desire to be adored.
In 1989 The Stone Roses wrote a mesmerizing song titled “I wanna be adored.” In it their front man Ian Brown sings these disturbing words: “I don’t need to sell my soul / he is already in me / I wanna be adored”. It’s as if he is saying I have given myself so totally over to the devilry of pride that I must be worshiped. Now I know that just seems like a flamboyant and flippant lyric of some brash young rock star, but the bottom line is our celebrities are always expressing blatantly what all of us secretly desire.
What we need is an accurate picture of ourselves. Only then will we be on the path to humility. An unknown mystic in The Cloud of Unknowing writes that “Humility is nothing else but a true knowledge and awareness of oneself as one really is.” When we look up at the Cross, we allow Jesus to shine in and show us the depths of our depravity and the depth of His grace. When our hopes are fixed on things of this world we degrade our souls with the lie that we can be our own God.
May we remember the words of Thomas Kempis, “The Saints who are highest in God’s sight are the least in their own.”