Jim’s great-grandfather, Willie, never learned to read and write. He would sign “X” on any document that required his signature, and during the time in which he lived, this was common and acceptable. Every day, while on his afternoon break from farming, Willie would sit in his favorite chair on the porch and comb through the day’s paper. He’d hold the newspaper to his face as if he was reading every word. When Jim was older, he asked his great-grandfather why he ordered a subscription to the local newspaper when he couldn’t read. Willie replied that he always enjoyed looking at the pictures.
There was no doubt in Jim’s mind that if his great-grandfather had learned to read and write, he would have been a very rich man. Willie was forced to work in the fields when he was seven years old. As a man, he understood that getting anywhere in life meant he had to work ten times harder than others. Not only was he not afraid of hard work, Willie was a natural entrepreneur. He turned a few acres into a successful 300-acre farm, but even so, he knew he was living far beneath his potential.
Willie’s kindness and generosity meant survival for others in his small rural community, but his sadness and regret about his inability to read and write shrouded any enjoyment of his triumphs. Years ago, legal papers revealed that he had been swindled out of both land and money several times by men who took advantage of his illiteracy. When Jim learned of what had been done to his great-grandfather by men in power, he became enraged. He vowed that no one would ever do this to him or his family ever again. Jim has become a successful entrepreneur in his own right. He has far exceeded his great-grandfather’s dreams of success, but Jim continues to carry anger and resentment in his heart about the injustice Willie endured.
Injustice is a terrible evil. But injustice without the benefit or possibility of reversing its injury is devastating beyond belief. The effects can leave scars for generations, instilling deeply rooted fears and feelings of hopelessness and grief. Jim was not only angry about what had been done to his great-grandfather, he erected walls of fear around his heart that the same thing could potentially be done to him. Willie had gone through unspeakable pain and humiliation in his effort to pass on his legacy and ensure that future generations would not be crippled by poverty and prejudice. He had tried not to allow the ruthlessness of others to spoil his dream, but it nearly did, and his great grandson, Jim, carried the trauma of how this good man suffered mostly in silence.
A few years ago, when Jim was told to let his anger go and to take it to the Lord in prayer, he sneered and mumbled a few choice words under his breath. To him at that time, this was a ridiculous notion. He was on the cusp of allowing his anger to turn to hate, and this near proximity to utter darkness was causing him to excessively drink and ruin relationships he once treasured. He had no peace and never drew the parallel between his anguish over the injustice his great grandfather suffered and the breakdown in his own life.
Romans 2:5(ESV) gives us information regarding the damage that storing the wrong things in our hearts can cause. This verse states, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” To understand this verse with greater clarity, we need look no further than the world in which we’re now living. People are completely thoughtless and careless in their treatment of others, and they commit crimes without remorse or shame. As history informs us, many of them feel justified in their wrong believing and wrong-doing, and it wouldn’t occur to them to be accountable for their actions. This is the kind of person that Romans 2:5 is describing. As disciples of Christ, we cannot follow this pattern.
The human heart is like an intricate and meticulous storage system. When a person has gotten to a place in life where their hearts are hard and unrepentant, whether they feel justified to do so or not, they are storing up something that will surely manifest outwardly in a negative way. It will explode in this person’s external life—into their relationships, jobs, finances, and living environments. It will impact their physical being in a negative way as well. A hard heart stores up wrath, and wrath is never satisfied with confinement. It will combust and take down everything in its wake if we allow it to remain unaddressed.
The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 51:10(ESV), “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” An unclean heart is controlled by the memories of being wronged. A clean heart refuses to be hardened by the cares of this world. A clean heart looks to God’s justice and not to that of human beings. Its confidence is in God’s love and perfection, and its delight is being at peace with God through Jesus Christ.
In John 14:27(ESV), our Master Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” In his tremendous encouragement, Jesus also makes a contrast between what the world gives and what he gives. We cannot find peace in the world, only confusion and chaos exist here. Jesus Christ never kept the reality of this truth from us. If we look to fill our cups with any other person or thing outside of Christ, we will be thirsty and malnourished an entire lifetime. So, his words to us are really a call to shift our focus, to look up and cast our eyes upon him continually, because only he can bless and rescue us from a life of inexplicable pain and anguish.
Proverbs 22:4(ESV) tells us, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is life to us! It means that we will always be required to carefully examine the actions, behaviors, feelings, and attitudes of our old selves. Many of those old ways must be stripped away because they no longer match who God has made us through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son. It takes humility to do this, because we must submit to God totally and pray that He will replace our stony hearts with the heart of Christ.
Some of us have unspeakable tragedies in our generational bloodlines. Things were done and they cannot be undone. It is a heavy load, but it is one we must leave at the feet of Jesus Christ. None of us can journey to the place that God has destined for us carrying the baggage of unresolved anger, fear, and doubt. We must lay that burden down, because it is not ours to carry. In its place, we must pick up the faith and reverence for all that God is and all that He created us to be. God’s forgiveness and amazing grace is the truth that saves us and accepting this in the depth of our hearts is the humility that Jesus Christ requires. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
“The Humility Jesus Christ Requires”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life. Copyright© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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