Braggarts, Blowhards, and Humility

The Jones family recently took delivery of a tremendous bargain we found on eBay: the complete set of The Red Green Show/The New Red Green Show on DVD.  In case you’re unfamiliar, it’s a comedy program from Canada which aired on PBS for many years.  Set in at a ramshackle Northwoods lodge/clubhouse, the title character (a backwoods, “Tim the Tool Man Taylor”-type) and his nephew get into all kinds of awkward situations through their ineptitude.  One of the colorful characters I enjoy is Possum Lodge member Hap Shaughnessy, an outrageous liar who tries to squelch doubts through sheer bravado.  Whenever his frauds are exposed, he doubles down on them.

 I find him hilarious because he reminds me of certain departed members of my extended family.  One of them, a blowhard who had neither the education nor sense to keep himself out of danger, gathered with the rest of the family one Fourth of July several years before I was born.  According to family lore, this great-uncle of mine had gotten the hair-brained notion that you can set off a firecracker between your fingers without harm, so long as you pinch it hard enough.  Others challenged this as nonsense, so he had to prove it by demonstration.  (This was in former days when fireworks carried significantly more punch.)  The fuse was lit, he squeezed with all his might, and BAM!  His fingers were burnt black, and though they remained on his hand, those two fingernails were nowhere to be found.  When the family exclaimed with alarm, he merely grit his teeth, forced a smile and said, “I told you—it doesn’t hurt at all.”

            Braggarts and blowhards – I’m sure we all know at least one.  We might find them funny, or infuriating, depending on the level of bravado they express.  But while they are lifted up as tragic or ridiculous characters, they represent the shadow side of celebrated traits in America: confidence and assertiveness.  The “alpha dogs” are the heroes of our culture, those who charge ahead with an air of self-assurance.  Their followers are pulled in by the impression that these “alphas” know exactly where they are going.  They have everything figured out, everything under control…although they really don’t.  These are the types of people who are on debate stages during election years.  They act as if their solutions are simple and comprehensive, that all difficulties will be cleared away, if you will just trust them to follow along with the program.  You rarely see these people reflective, acknowledging the complexities of contemporary issues and admitting that their ideas will meet with only partial success.  Humility does not build momentum or win elections.  It won’t get you ahead in the business world or in prominent social circles. 

            Though it may not be an upwardly-mobile trait in today’s culture, the Lenten season reminds us that humility is absolutely essential to a right relationship with God.  Humble people admit that they are not wise, just or righteousness enough to stand in the presence of God.  They acknowledge the fundamental corruption of human nature which disqualifies them from His eternal dwelling of perfect righteousness.  They have no strength to mend and perfect themselves, let alone the wisdom to address the complex problems of mortal life with anything approaching real justice.  We are radically dependent on our Creator, the source of wisdom, holiness and justice.  This is why Solomon declared that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Pr. 9:10)  Though arrogant humanity thinks that it can reason out anything, we cannot understand anything independent of the God who IS where all true understanding resides.  Indeed, the merely human understanding will only render us utterly lost, for “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)

            During Lent, we face the reality of our deceptive, sinful hearts.  We admit that we cannot cure ourselves.  The truth is that “There is no one righteous, no even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God, All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Rom. 3:10-12)  But by His infinite grace and love, Jesus came to rescue us from ourselves.  He took on Himself the full weight of our wickedness, canceling its curse through His death on the Cross.  His resurrection on the third day proclaims the good news that the Great Exchange worked perfectly: our sin for His righteousness; our death for His gift of eternal life.  On Easter we will sing Alleluia for this glorious victory, but during Lent we must acknowledge that we cannot gain this victory on our own.  We are utterly bankrupt and lost, and we must confess our poverty if we are to receive the riches of His grace.

            Our world is full of sinful people pretending to have it all figured out, arguing and competing with other sinful people pretending to have it all figured out.  Election years simply provide us with a microcosm, our world in miniature so that we can view just how corrupt and self-deluded we can be.  The problems we face are massive, complicated, and only worsened when we think we can solve them by ourselves.  May Lent remind us that neither we, nor any human person or party, have any solutions.  Instead, let us find hope in this promise: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (Jas. 4:10)  The secret to the mending of our world is not found in any seat of human power, but simply in the way we relate to the Lord and to our neighbors, right where we are:

“He has showed you, O man, what is good, And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8, NIV)