The Problem of Hubris

Unfortunately, in the faith experience of many, there is a certain impatience with the way God, in His wisdom, chooses to reveal Himself. We dream the impossible dream of experiencing total fulfillment now. We inanely quest for the knowledge of ultimate reality now. We want complete control. We want to put ourselves in the driver’s seat on the journey through life. We find it difficult to use our gifts responsibly and, at the same time, allow ourselves to be guided through life by God. It is an internal spiritual deficit. It is the problem of hubris.

Hubris, according to Encarta and Wikipedia, is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening pride, haughtiness, or arrogance. It is in this secular sense that public criticism is directed toward Bernard Madoff and Tiger Woods for example. Hubris is most closely associated with characteristics of excessive confidence or arrogance. 

Biblically, it is not so easily translated. It appears in the earliest chapters of the Bible and turns up repeatedly. Often it is translated “pride” and, because pride has many meanings in our language, we may misunderstand what the Bible is telling us if we are not careful. We are not talking about ordinary conceit. Hubris, in the biblical sense, means refusing to let God be God. It means trying to be God ourselves; self-sufficiency - the opposite of the “faith” Jesus talks about. We have all known or heard about individuals who actually claimed to be Jesus or God. This is hubris in its purest form.

Hubris is the original sin in the story of creation and every other sin grows out of the original sin. It is the refusal to let God be God; the readiness to put our own will above God’s will. That is the whole point of Eden’s narrative. All Adam and Eve had to do to stay in Paradise was to let God be God. They declined subordinating to God’s will and consequently, the “fall” from Paradise!

Man from the beginning wanted to do his own thing, have his own way, be his own god, determine his own destiny, plan his own life, rule his own world and ignore the Creator God. Man in the present is the same and based on man’s history, there is no reason to believe it will be any different in the future. It is the same old problem of hubris - refusing to let God be God.

You probably recall the occasion when Jesus’ confused, self-centered disciples were arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom, who would be CEO of heaven, who would sit on the throne next to Jesus. So to demonstrate the need to let God be God, Jesus used a little child.

Calling a child to Him, He put him in the midst of them and said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3-4.

Maurice Sendak, called the Picasso of children's literature, was interviewed on a television talk show. The master of ceremonies asked a number of questions designed to uncover the secret of Sendak’s success at writing children’s books. Some of the questions posed were, “Do you have any children? Do you spend a lot of time watching children at play? On and on the questions went. Finally, Sendak said to the host, “I can write children’s books because I have been a child.” His secret to writing books for children was in remembering what it was like to be a child.

That is precisely what Jesus was telling His disciples and what He is telling us is the secret of success in entering into a right relationship with God. He wants us to remember what it was like to have been a child. He wants us to remember that, as children, we were dependent creatures. And, just as we had to trust others for our very survival, so must we place our absolute trust in God for our fulfillment as human beings. In other words, we must allow God to be God in our lives. All through Scripture, both Old Testament and the New, God echoes repeatedly, “Let Me be your God, let Me deal with your problems, let Me guide you, let Me minister to your every need, let Me be what I am - God, and besides Me there is no other.”

You remember the familiar story of Jesus and His disciples caught in a storm at sea. The disciples in their panic and fear wake Jesus up; He miraculously calms the storm with a few Words and gently scolds them for their lack of faith.

We too are like the disciples. As long as it is a smooth sail, we live under the illusion that we are in control. But when life gets stormy, when the boat begins to rock, or when something unthinkable appears in our life, all of a sudden God re-enters our awareness and we begin to wonder where is He. Doubt creeps in upon us and we wonder if He is napping again while we are being tossed and turned on the restless sea of time. Yet, we will not let God be God in our lives.

On the eve of His death, Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” John 16:20-22. Believe on the promises of God and let God be God.

Hubris continues to be the root cause of our attempting to undermine God and seize total control of our own lives. Whether we are Christians, political figures, celebrities, sports personalities, or the average Joe we are all capable of fooling ourselves into believing we are more than what we are and capable of taking care of ourselves. This is the problem of hubris. It is sad really, because we tend to suppress the reality that without the Spirit of God, we can do nothing.

Let God be God in your life.

When we allow God to be God, we discover that we are freed to discard our comfortable self-flattering illusions and face honestly the instability of all those worldly props on which we attempt to base our security. We realize that “Apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5c. God promises that if we allow Him to be who He is in our lives, He will guide and sustain us through even the most challenging of circumstances. When we allow God to become our pride, then like the Apostle Paul we can declare, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.

I am told that there is a statue in Mexico which bears the strange title of “In Spite of.” In the midst of creating this work of art, the sculptor lost his right hand in an accident. Yet, he was determined to finish the work. He devoted himself to learning how to carve with his left hand. And through his persistent effort, the statue was finally finished. For this reason, the statue is called, “In Spite Of.”

In spite of all that we encounter in this life, if we let God be God in our lives, we will experience His abiding presence and help in times of trouble, now, henceforth, even forevermore.