A problem called false humility

Back home in Western Finland we have an unwritten law that we call “Jantelagen”, or in English “The law of Jante”. Unfortunately it is not any longer unwritten, but now you can even find it on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law). This law is basically a mentality of unworthiness, and it portrays individual success and achievement as unworthy and inappropriate. The ten rules are as follows:

 1.  You're not to think you are anything special.

2. You're not to think you are as good as we are.

3. You're not to think you are smarter than we are.

4. You're not to convince yourself that you are better than we are.

5. You're not to think you know more than we do.

6. You're not to think you are more important than we are.

7. You're not to think you are good at anything.

8. You're not to laugh at us.

9. You're not to think anyone cares about you.

10. You're not to think you can teach us anything

Having grown up in an area where this mentality is extremely strong, I’ve had difficulties rejoicing over my personal achievements and even over the blessings God has given me. When somebody tells me something nice I usually go “Oh well, I kow it's not perfect but...”. For those of you who are from Finland know how true this is. When somebody makes a positive comment on your new jacket you go “Oh well, it was on sale… It might not be quite my color…”. When somebody tells you your new hairstyle looks good you’ll say “Oh well, I don’t know…”.

Oh my goodness, what is wrong with us??! Why can’t we just say thank you? Why have we let this ungodly mentality rule for so long? You know what? It is time for a change. I declare WAR against the jantelaw! Here comes the law of truth:

     1. You are special. God does NOT create junk.

          2. You are unique.

           3. Don’t let people look down at you.

           4. Don’t compare yourself with others – you’re only competing against yourself.

           5. Know that somebody out there needs to hear what you know. 

           6. God has placed an individual calling on your life, and nobody’s path is like yours. Rejoice over the uniqueness of your calling!

           7. You are good at so many things. Stop looking at what you can’t and look at what you already can. Thankfulness will take you far.

8. Laughing is a real stress releaser. Laugh a lot – preferably at yourself, if necessary at others. But not at old ladies. 
 9. You are LOVED as you are. Look around and see all the people who care about you, and look to God who created you. HE loves you with a perfect love! 
   10. Everybody has something to tell and someone they can teach. Don’t look down on your testimony.

Sometimes I ask God why He is sending me back to Finland. A dark, cold nation where people don’t speak a lot and are very withdrawn and closed, and where suicide rates have hit the roof. Then God reminds me of what a great mission field that is! Can you imagine what happens when the TRUTH and God’s LOVE is preached? Can you imagine what a change that will bring about? Hallelujah!

 During the last few days God has been fulfilling one promise after the other. He has blessed me in ways I can’t seem to understand. Time after time I’ve noticed how hard It has been for me to receive these blessings. When somebody has been telling me they want to give me something, I have answered in a very typical Finnish way… “Oh no Mam, you shouldn’t have. Oh no, this is too much…”. I have  tried to convince people not to give me the things they wanted to give me – and in so doing, I have tried to hinder the blessings of God from flowing into my life.

  When God showed me how stupid all that was I had to drop down to my knees and repent. Forgive me Father God for false humility! True, Biblical humility is good, while false humility is something that does not honor God.

I know that I want to uproot every single little bit of the “Jantelaw” in my life. That is why I wrote this confession, and I want you to read it OUT LOUD together with me:

I thank you Father for that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps 139:14). I know that I am loved, and Your love never fails (I John 4:9, 1 Cor 13:8) . In Jesus’ Name I renounce every form of false humility, and speak forth the transforming of my mind (Rom 12:2). I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) and I will not let myself be enslaved or look down at whom I am in you. I choose to look at those around me through your eyes. In Jesus’ Name Amen!

 The next time somebody tells me "You look nice today" I'm just gonna say thank you. When they make a comment about my jacket (which they will, because I've been blessed with a very good-looking leather jacket!), I'm just gonna say thank you. When the people get mad and call me proud, I'll have my response ready:

Kneeling before God is humility. Turning positives into negatives is stupidity.

God bless you, thank you for reading!