The Confession Of A Person Who Thinks He Is Better Than You

I’m taking a little vacation for a few days. However, I want to continue sharing with you some unconventional thoughts for our uncommon journey. I’m happy that you’re along on the ride. Sometimes the road is bumpy and rough. Often it’s smooth. Taking a wrong turn is common. Meeting the unexpected is normal. It’s good to travel with Someone who knows the way better than we do. 

Over the next few posts, I’ll share some thoughts that have been floating around in my heart for months. I pray God’s mercy will energize you to take the next step on your journey with Him. I hope these posts will help. 

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I have a wild confession to make. Bear with me. This is not easy to admit. It’s been over 60 years in the making and will take the rest of my life to overcome. I am trained to be competitive. Thousands of hours have gone into “improving” and making something of myself. I’ve accomplished much. I’m well-respected by many. 

Yet, week in and week out, to its dismay, my distinguished ego gets slapped around by “lesser-thans.” So here’s my confession…

I think I’m better than you.

There, I said it. Nope! I don’t feel a bit better. I feel guilty for having to say it. But maybe not enough to do something about this smug self-regard.

So, this is what I’ve been wrestling with for weeks now. I think I’ll be struggling for quite some time. It’s where God has me right now. I don’t like it. 

You see, I’ve been trained to think that I’m better than you.

• I’ve got theological and academic degrees that certainly qualify me to talk about God stuff to underlings who are less informed.  
• I know the Bible better than you since I’ve studied it, taught it, preached it, memorized it and sat under some of the top Bible people in the country. 
• I live a disciplined life that gets me up early and keeps me working until I’ve accomplished much, probably more than you. 
• I’ve been through tough times which allow me to advise you how to live your life. 
• I’ve been in front of people leading in worship, teaching the scriptures, singing solos, saying prayers, and running meetings. 
• My opinions are well informed, thought through, and close to inerrant. You need to listen to me. 
• I’ve got skills in music, writing, counseling, Bible exposition, teaching, and prayer that qualify me to make demands of you. 
• I haven’t messed up morally validating my superior uprightness above most Christians and bolstering my ability to judge your conduct. 
• I’ve written much on Christian living, prayer, the interior life, a relationship with God, and Christian spirituality making me an expert. 
• Sin does not have dominion over me since I’m walking in the Spirit, praying always, and seeking first the kingdom of God. Can you say that? 
• I take care of myself physically, intellectually, spiritually, and relationally. Most people are weak in one or two of these areas. Not me. 
• I know most all of the Christian cliches that make me sound highly spiritual, like: “That’s a God-thing” and “God is good…all the time,” “I’ll pray for you,” “When God closes a door, He opens a window,” and “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” I’ve got the words you need to hear. 
• I have a blog that allows me to influence the lives of hundreds of people at once. Do you have such a powerful way to do this? 

There you have it – a bunch of reasons why I think I’m better than you. 

And like Paul said about his own background compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3.8) , it’s all sh..t (Pardon my French but I’m trying to show how putrid my self-admiration really is – refuge, scum, excrement; repulsive useless rottenness). Compared to knowing Jesus Christ, it all stinks like cow pies and dead fish. We don’t usually brag about the exceptional quality of our sewage. Well, apparently, some of us do.  

I hope you’ll keep reading my stuff anyway. And, pray for me. 

Dr. K