Today I read an excerpt from Tilden H. Edwards’ Spiritual Friend, in which he writes that “The whole authentic history of spiritual discipline in the Church and in all deep religious traditions is to aid human digestion of the Holy, so that we do not…use its strength for building an ego empire.”

Around our house we like to joke that “My greatest quality is my humility” (we laugh at the irony that you can’t be truly humble and say that). But ironic or not, too often it’s true – in human efforts to become more Christ-like, we can become pretty proud of how holy and pure we are becoming. That, of course, is not Christ-like at all. Here, I think the disciplines of confession and praise are crucial. Confession reminds us of who we are – sinners in need of a savior. I fear we’ve lost the art of confession. There is no need to sit around feeling guilty, but when we spend some time in real confession of our sins, not “forgive me, Father, if I have sinned,” we gain one of the key blessings of being follower’s of Christ – freedom from those sins. We all are sinners – if you can’t think of anything to confess, confess that you are blind to your sins, and go from there. Praise reminds us of who God is. It can feel a little uncomfortable sitting around praising God. Many people find it good to start with reading Psalms of praise – I love Psalm 150, for example. Or just go outside, and say something like “God, look what you did! The sun rising on the trees is stunning!” Look at blue sky, and think of the mountains and rivers and canyons! Or think of how your body works (most days…), or the power of electricity. If you think of it, creation in all of its manifestations is pretty amazing. To God be the glory for all of that.

On our way to becoming more Christ-like, let’s stay grounded and humble, aware of our place in creation, and our purpose as servants of our Lord. Confession and praise are vital, so as we become more holy we don’t become “holier than thou,” thus forgetting the center of the gospel – love.