“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:29-30, NIV)
What do you think you are worth? The saint with whom we’re spending the week, Francis de Sales, knew the inner conflict. He wrote, “we often confess ourselves to be nothing, nay misery itself and the refuse of the world but would be very sorry that anyone should believe us or tell others we are really so miserable wretches.” He addressed distorted expressions of humility and the need for us to “be meek toward ourselves.”
“True humility never makes a show of herself nor uses many humble words. We should either not accustom ourselves to words of humility or else use them with a sincere interior sentiment, conformable to what we pronounce outwardly. Let us never cast down our eyes but when we humble our hearts; let us not seem to desire to be the lowest unless we sincerely desire it.”
Christians need to hear this guidance: be meek toward yourself.
“One of the best exercises of meekness is never fretting at our own imperfections, for though reason requires we should be sorry when we commit any fault, we must refrain from bitter, gloomy, spiteful, and passionate displeasure, who, overcome by anger, are angry for having been angry and vexed to see ourselves vexed, for by this means we keep our hearts perpetually steeped in passion, and though it seems as if the second anger destroyed the first, it serves to open a passage for fresh anger.”
Jesus illustrates our worth dramatically, referring to the minimal cost of two sparrows: two for a penny! God knows when one of these almost worthless creatures falls to the ground. It’s not easy staying aware of our weakness and failings. Paul confessed, “For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Paul concluded with this vivid assessment, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body doomed to death?”
So de Sales urges, be gentle with yourself. Be honest, don’t try to cover up, but don’t stay there, groveling in your “nothingness.” Recognize, confess, repent. Remember who you are: God’s creation of far more value than a sparrow. Claim what Paul claimed: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”
Moment of Reflection: Do you think of yourself more highly or more lowly than you ought?
Prayer: Lord, keep me humble, but ever mindful that you love me unstintingly. Amen.
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