Book Recommendation: "Humility" by CJ Mahaney

Originally published December 9, 2008.

Currently, we are walking through the basics of Christianity at church. We began with submission, moved to servanthood, and are now discussing humility (selflessness to keep the alliteration going). And I can think of a no more simpler and yet profound book on the subject than CJ Mahaney's book simply titled, "Humility: True Greatness."

Mahaney has written a short book that anyone can read and understand. It reminds me of the apostle John's writings: very simple to read and understand yet rich in content, theology, and depth. Mahaney walks the reader on the importance of humility and how we can live humble lives.

I want to briefly discuss what was perhaps the most compelling part of the book. In one chapter, Mahaney discusses the importance of seeing evidence of God's grace in everyone. His example for this is the Apostle Paul and his letter to the Corinthians. Though Paul had to deal with a lot of difficult issues in this letter (and in his 2nd letter, not to mention the letters that we do not have that he wrote), he nonetheless begins the letter thanking God for them.

Why? They certainly didn't deserve it. Paul knew that God had saved them and He was sanctifying them. Therefore, Paul was grateful for their, though infantile, knowing that God was still working in them. As a minister, I am constantly confronting with people whom I want to ignore and write off. Not so with Paul. Though the Christians in Corinth were struggling, Paul leaned on God nonetheless.

Paul saw in himself the same selfishness that characterized the Corinthians and thus points them to the cross. There is nothing more humbling than the cross. It is a constant reminder that God is good even though I am so bad. The cross means that I can not save myself, I must fully rely on someone else to get me out of the mess that I have made. That is humility.

More could be said about this fascinating and much needed little book, but this should suffice. I believe, and so does Scripture, that pride is the root of every sin. As CS Lewis wrote, pride is what made the devil the devil. Lewis also considers pride to be the great sin, and he is exactly right. As Christians, we must slay this dragon and live lives that reflect God's glory and we can do that by being humble Christians always reminded of the cross.


For more:
Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ: Christ Our Mediator
Basic Christianity: Daniel 4:29-37 - Humility Before God
Basic Christianity: James 4:1-10 - Humility Before Others

Mahaney on the Person and Work of Christ: Christ Our Mediator

I love the following passage taken from CJ Mahaney's book Christ Our Mediator: Finding Passion at the Cross (LifeChange Books).  Its a short book that can be read quickly, but its content is fantastic.  Let us always be reflecting on the cross!  Tomorrow we will be discusing the humanity of Christ and in the following quote, Mahaney shows how Christ's humanity and deity are necessary in order for the gospel to be real.  If Chrit is one and not the other then we remain in our sins.

Since sin has been committed by man, therefore sin must be atoned for by a man.  Only a human being can be the perfect substitute for other human beings.  The deb and obligation and responsibility is mankind’s alone.  Neither you nor I, however, can atone for our sin to satisfy God’s righteous requirements; our own disobedience already condemns us before a righteous God.  Furthermore, we’re captive to sin; it’s humanly impossible for us to release ourselves from its rip.  Even if somehow, from this moment forward, we steeled ourselves to stop winning (which is impossible), our record is still stain by the sins of our past.


That’s our condition – having no possible way to atone for our sin, nor any possible way to free ourselves from enslavement to it.
 
A divine rescue is necessary.  We need a savior.  And in order to be our savior, in order to pay our debt, this individual must be like us – not just God in a form that merely appears to be human, but someone fully and truly human.  Yet he must be unlike us as well, because he must be sinless, since only a perfect sacrifice is acceptable.  He must be fully God, and not simply a man with a limited set of divine powers an abilities.  -44-45

Weekly Recommendation: 'Humility'

Over the past 2 months, we have been looking at Basic Christianity. What does it mean to be a Christian? We have answered that in 3 ways: Submission, Servanthood, and Selflessness (humility). We are currently discussing humility. Over the past 2 weeks, I have been re-reading my favorite book on the subject, "Humility: True Greatness," by C J Mahaney.

I had the opportunity to meet Mahaney and have him sign my copy of his book. He wrote:

Kyle,

With Appreciation

C J

James 4:6

What is interesting is that we will be looking at James 4 this upcoming Sunday as we conclude our discussion on Basic Christianity. I highly recommend this book. It is simple, short, and yet, profound. I have recently written a short review of the book. If it helps, I encourage everyone to read it and to check out this book. Mahaney is one of the best public examples of what humility looks like. Pride is a constant battle we fight. We all fight it, and this is a great resource to help us in that struggle.

His best advice: remember the cross.

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." -James 4:6