Author:James (Steve) Clay, MABC, LPC
Ok. I have to admit it. I love Dirty Harry movies. Just watched a couple of them this past weekend. And yes, they are full of depravity. Anyway, I do like to watch Inspector Callahan (Clint Eastwood) make the bad guys pay . . . carrying a bad 44 Magnum and shooting through windshields of cars to get bad guys. In one of the episodes, Harry uses a witty statement several times to a bad Lieutenant cop that that made me laugh but also grabbed my attention for a blog. In the closing scene, when the bad cop has driven away, thinking he was the victor, only to have a bomb detonate in his car, Dirty Harry said it again with narrowed eyes, a taut brow, and breathy voice, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” I loved it!
Dirty Harry didn’t know he was speaking good theology. Knowing our limitations is the key to knowing ourselves well. It is the key to embracing the gospel as our only hope. The swagger and bravado of Dirty Harry is not the answer to our limitations. Humility is.
In his most recent sermon on the book of James, Matt Chandler presented several tests of arrogance/humility. I jotted down several of these in my own words and added a few as well.
· Do you see the infinitude of God’s wisdom, power, and knowledge?
· Do you live with the awareness of the ever-presence of God?
· Do you see that God is outside of time and not limited by space?
· Do you understand and acknowledge your weaknesses?
· Do you invite others into your weaknesses? (1 Corinthians 12)
· Do you pray that God expose your weaknesses? (Psalm 139:22-23)
· Do your weaknesses define you? Are you prone to self-pity?
· Do you stay curious or do you believe you have everything figured out?
· Do you seek understanding and godly wisdom/counsel?
· Do you have a freeing sense of acknowledgement that you don’t know everything?
· Do you like to appear that you are knowledgeable? Do you want others to believe you have all the answers (or at least most)?
· Do you value other people? Do you show it?
· Do you acknowledge the wisdom and successes of others?
· Do you praise others? Do you celebrate their strengths as coming from the Lord?
We’ve “got to know our limitations.” Fundamentally, we are flawed (yes, you) beyond repair apart from God’s grace. We are foolishly proud. We are bound to our sinful condition, without hope outside of God’s gracious intervention (Ephesians 2 is rich with this theme!). We love the praise of man rather than the praise that belongs to God (like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and the pop culture of our own). We are obliviously in love with a lustful and temporal world system. We need lots of help . . . and usually don’t know it. Or we ask for the wrong kind of help or for the wrong reasons (see James 4:1-4). Lord, help us!
In short, humbly asking the Lord to reveal our limitations is a gloriously freeing thing to do. It is the first step in the direction of joyful repentance. The grace of God makes up for our greatest sin-soaked limitation—that is, that we don’t see and savor Christ for the glorious Savior that He is. Oh that God would make haste to open our eyes, the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:19), that we might know our limitations and rejoice that His grace is more than sufficient to make us into what He intends. When made right, we are those who enjoy God for who He is and desire what He has given us in Christ. Knowing our limitations comes by the Word of God, by prayer, and by fellowship with the saints. I am encouraged to invest in knowing my limitations for the good of my soul and the glory of Christ. It is a good thing to know my limitations and to turn to the One who has none. We have nothing to lose but our own pride and ignorance. And we have so much to gain in the enjoyment of the beauty and glory of Christ. Will you join me?