In our CMU course with Will Braun, he said that in the spirit of expanding our capacity to see a wide range of people as the beloved of God, he asked us this question: “Have we ever enjoyed looking down on others?”   This question bit. Thankfully I could not remember a specific occasion but I had to admit to myself I probably had done that. Not one of my finer moments. People who can do that, Braun suggested were “confident in their own righteousness.”  That is what enables us to look down on others. Again, I must admit I have done that too. My bad.

Shamefully, I must acknowledge I have felt that satisfaction. But thanks to Will Braun, I won’t ever again have that easy confidence in my own righteousness. I am sure I will still have too much of it, but at least, I hope, a little less than I would have had before.  I will have to back off a bit. I will have to keep my hubris in check and release my humility instead. I hope I can do it.  Not sure I can.