“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”- Matthew 5:5 (NLT)
Kyle Idleman opens Chapter 3 (“Humbled to Be Exalted”) of The End of Me with this important avalanche survival tip: Spit first. Dig second. Pastor Idleman points out that one of the biggest mistakes people make when buried by tons of snow in an avalanche is digging blindly to get out.
Once someone is covered with snow, it’s almost impossible to tell which direction is which. Gravity, however, still applies. The solution is to push the snow away from your face and spit. The direction gravity takes your spit determines your position. For example, if you spit and it lands on your face, you know you’re facing up. which is a good thing.
Pastor Idleman observes that when Jesus came on the scene as a rabbi, directional confusion was rampant. In “the fullness of time” Jesus came to set the compass for all time. Yet, to twenty-first century ears, Jesus’s third beatitude seems ironic. To our culture, it looks more like CEOs, movie stars, and professional athletes have dibs on inheriting the earth. Jesus countered this misperception in Luke 18:14 as well:
“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
In order for this to happen, Kyle asserts that we need to deal with our inner Pharisee.
Today’s question: What Bible verses keep you headed in the right direction? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Your internal Pharisee”
