A friend of mine posted a quote by Jonathan Edwards:
“All gracious affections that are a sweet order to Christ, and that fill the soul of a Christian with a heavenly sweetness and fragrancy, are brokenhearted affections. A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble brokenhearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires: their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable, and full of glory, is a humble brokenhearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behavior.”
On the surface my first impression was resonating with much of the language except I didn’t know what being “brokenhearted” meant in this quote. In my second reading, I felt like I needed to object at least to a certain reading of it, whether or not Edwards meant to say what I reject below. Granted, I don’t know the context of this quote, so please keep that in mind. So here was my response:
Being brokenhearted does not necessarily equal the virtue of humility. Humiliation does not equal the virtue of humility. Being poor in spirit, defined as being nothing before God and others, does not equal the virtue of humility. And, I would say “universal lowliness of behavior” does not equal the virtue of humility since one can behave confidently, boldly, with no appearance of being a weak and miserable soul, and still have a humble heart.
C.S. Lewis once said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
J.I. Packer similarly noted, “Being humble is not a matter of pretending to be worthless, but is a form of realism, not only regarding the real badness of one’s sins and stupidities and the real depth of one’s dependence on God’s grace, but also regarding the real range of one’s abilities. Humble believers know what they can and cannot do. They note both their gifts and their limitations, and so are able to avoid both the unfaithfulness of letting their God-given powers lie fallow and the foolhardiness of biting off more than they can chew” (Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom From the Book of Nehemiah, 48).
Scripture doesn’t describe the Christian life of humility as one of being broken or brokenhearted. Jesus tells us: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The Apostle Paul teaches us: “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir” (Gal 4:6-7). Jesus clearly establishes a distinction between being brokenhearted (“weary,” “burdened”) vs. humbly resting in God: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 8:28).
Now, if Edwards means “brokenhearted” in a different sense (let’s say a disposition of enduring suffering and frustration in the midst of this broken world) then I would say “brokenheartedness,” in this sense, is only part of the Christian understanding of humility (please meditate on the entire chapter of Romans 8).
Here, we have the Spirit of God himself liberating us from any negative judicial relationship with God, giving us life, governing us with life and peace, promising resurrection, adopting us as his own child, making us heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ in the family of God. Yes, we suffer in this world’s brokenness, awaiting the day of ultimate liberation, but we have “the first fruits of the Spirit” who “helps us in our weakness.” Furthermore, Paul declares that we are, “more than conquerors through him who loves us!” Look at the lengths to which God is truly Immanuel (God with us) through Christ and the Holy Spirit!
Christian humility does not make us “nothing” and it doesn’t just leave us broken in a broken world. Rather, Christian humility helps us realize our true identity, our whole being, our thoughts, and our behavior is found “in Christ,” and in communion with the Spirit of the living God. Scripture not only calls all to humility but tells us that this life of humility consists of God exalting us as his own children, heirs of his kingdom, more than conquerors, ambassadors with a ministry of reconciliation and messengers of the Gospel in this present age.
Sound Thought 