by
J. C. Mahaney
It’s a little intimidating to write a review of a book on
humility. I mean, where do you begin? I decided, therefore, to start with
myself, that is, to apply this truth to my own life, as did the author of his
life, and C. J. Mahaney’s book is challenging, indeed.
This is one of the best contemporary books I’ve read in quite some time. There’s no pop-psychology here, no feel-good clichés, no humanistic
philosophy, no diluted Gospel, so if that’s what you prefer, you won’t enjoy
this read. If, however, you want to be challenged about the destructiveness of
pride and God’s hatred of this very “core of all sin” (as the author points
out), then I encourage you to read this diagnostic book.
I would even humbly suggest a method for reading this book.
While it’s actually quite short and a quick read, I urge you to resist reading
it straight through. Its twelve brief chapters yield themselves nicely to a
chapter a day approach, an exercise that will be of far more help to you than
today’s popular so-called “40 days of purpose.” Instead of puffing you up and
elevating your self-esteem, here is a book that confronts you with the
sinfulness of self and the greatness of God.
In Part I, the author outlines the battle between humility
and pride, demonstrating that pride is “when sinful humans aspire to the
status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon
Him,” and that humility “is honestly assessing ourselves in light of
God’s holiness and our sinfulness.” Part II looks at our Savior and the secret
of true greatness by demonstrating that the latter is “serving others for the
glory of God.” In Part III, the longest section of the book (eight chapters),
the author offers many practical suggestions and principles for practicing true
humility. Some of those that struck me the most profoundly are: reflecting on
the wonder of the cross, beginning each day acknowledging our need for God, and
studying the attributes of God and the Doctrines of Grace (including the
doctrine of sin). Those will, indeed, keep us humble.
As excellent as this book is, I dare to submit humbly that
it could have been better. One of the characteristics of most books written
today is a lack of Bible exposition. While there is some here, such as a
wonderful study of Habakkuk, there could have been much more. I wish, for
example, that the Greek words and historical concepts behind “pride” and
“humility” had been examined, which is a key to good exposition. Additionally,
while the many principles offered in Part III are good, several of them need
more Biblical support. Several key verses on this issue were also surprisingly
overlooked, such as: Mk. 8:34, II Tim. 3:1-5, Rom. 1:25, and I Jn. 2:16.
While I’m confident that the author knows that both “pride”
and “self” are never, not once, used in a positive way in Scripture, I
was disappointed that this point was not made clearly enough. A common teaching
today is that there is “positive pride,” that we can, for example, be proud of
our children when they do good, so I think it should have been made crystal
clear that such attitudes are unbiblical because they lift up self instead of
God alone. I also found the author’s thoughts on sports a little weak. While he
rightly points out, as a “discerning fan,” that “sports heroes” are not “great”
in God’s eyes, as they are in the world’s, I don’t think he goes quite far
enough. There are few things in our society (if any) that elevate man’s pride
as much as athletics.
Also, while I know it’s a popular teaching, I still have a
problem with the notion that the lists of spiritual gifts recorded in Scripture
are not exhaustive but are just a “sample” of the gifts that God gives, a view
the author mentions in passing. The Bible simply doesn’t say that, and I find
it a weakening of the sufficiency of Scripture that ultimately places the
recognizing and defining of any other so-called gifts in man’s hands.
In spite of those observations, I highly recommend
this book with all my heart and mind. It was a deep blessing and pointed challenge
to my own spiritual life, especially in one particular area where I admit to
and struggle with pride. In a day when pride characterizes our personal lives
and drives our entire culture, here is book that meets it head on and condemns
it for the sin that it is. I encourage you to read it and meditate upon the
principles it humbly offers.
