Not considering oneself wise, but associating with the lowly, means considering oneself the worst of sinners. This arouses total opposition not only from those who live at the level of nature, but also from Christians who are self-aware. It sounds like an exaggeration, an untruth. Yet even Paul said of himself that he was the foremost, i.e., the worst of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). He said this at the very place in scripture where he was speaking of his ministry as an apostle. There can be no genuine knowledge of sin that does not lead me down to this depth. If my sin appears to me to be in any way smaller or less reprehensible in comparison with the sins of others, then I am not yet recognizing my sin at all. My sin is of necessity the worst, the most serious, the most objectionable. Christian love will find any number of excuses for the sins of others; only for my sin is there no excuse whatsoever.
(pp. 97-98). This is true humility: the ability to recognize the depth of our own sin and to prefer to justify the sins of others rather than our own. The natural human tendency is to justify and excuse our own sins and to condemn as far more serious the sins of others. But true Christian humility is the exact opposite.
Why? Well, because when we truly understand grace, we can be honest enough with ourselves to see the darkness of our own sins. And when we truly grasp grace, we can’t help but extend that grace to others.
When we learn to think this way, an amazing thing happens. We no longer feel superior to others because we better discern the silences of the Scriptures. Rather, we recognize that mastering the silences leaves us nothing but unworthy servants who don’t come close to meriting our salvation — because we are guilty of so many other, darker sins.
No longer do we pretend that God denies grace to those who misunderstand the Law of Generic and Specific Authority but grants grace to those who fail to love their brothers as they ought. Instead, we see how deeply we deserve damnation for our lack of love and we won’t feel the least justified by our intellectual and doctrinal attainments. And therefore we’ll embrace those who disagree with us on such things as dearly beloved brothers.
We are all in deep trouble, if we do not show mercy to others in our judgments.
We find this in prescription drug addition among christians. Most just don’t see AA/NA/CA…… as comfortable groups with which to facilitate their recovery. In fact they detest what association with such groups implies about their “spiritual standing”. Unforunatly, most additions require daily meetings for the first 90 days and most churches do not have the resourses (or experience) for the intensive care needed. Some try to accomadate such members by a weekly meeting. Those I’m aware of have failed.