The happiest believers are the most humble,

most self-aware, most self-accepting.  The unhappiest believers are the proudest, least self-aware, least self-accepting.  Self-awareness without self-acceptance is depressing.  Self-awareness without the good news of Jesus’ imputed worthiness, leaves believers very proud/independent, and feeling worthless, depressed.  Self-acceptance without self-awareness makes for mean-spirited, unloving, willful, proud Pharisees, who accomplish at lot, but all by human power, no Jesus-power.  Having a great cognitive/intellectual understanding of the good news about Jesus, without gobs of Spirit-produced humility (amazing self-awareness and amazing self-acceptance), leaves believers longing for Heaven, more unhappy in this life than most pre-believers.

Humility/dependency/faith is not something I can generate from within, discipline myself to get, willfully choose to have, but is only ever granted to me, from Above.  No credit/glory to me.  Fresh conviction of the sin of independence/pride is the nicest, sweetest, kindest thing Jesus ever does for us kids of His.  A humble believer confesses sin, but a proud believer is discouraged by seeing sin afresh, determines to do better next time, and never wants to see more sin in the future.  Hates seeing more sin.  A humble believer invites the Spirit to open his eyes to see more sin, so he can confess it, and be freshly free, having fun, enjoying Jesus, others, self, circumstances, just as they are.  Humility evaporates rapidly, because of the world, flesh, devil, snookering us into independency/pride.

–DumbSheepDave, having more fun that ever as the Shepherd’s Spirit convicts more and more, hoping the pre-believers around him are noticing the difference in 2013

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