Orientation

“ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. ”

Humility : the greatest of the virtues, is also the least visible and most overlooked. You almost have to define humility by contrasting it to pride, in order to actually see what it is. Pride is distorting reality, often inflating our own importance and diminishing the importance of others, especially of God, in our lives. Humility is simply seeing things as they are.

Seeing things as they are, especially with God's viewpoint, is a goal we should all set for ourselves. It requires a completely different orientation to the world, to facts we learn, to events in our lives, to the very things we do and our motivations in doing them. Orientation, viewpoint, attitude and perspective shape the way we see everything, and how we respond. Having God's perspective would make a great difference to us, if we could get there.

The first day of any school year there is something called “orientation.” The new student is lost in a maze of hallways, big kids, lockers, combinations, class periods, teachers' names and new rules. Knowing this, the school gets the new student into a room and tries to make the most important things clear to him. If he can orient the plot plan of the school right side up, with a big arrow pointing to “You Are Here,” he has a chance of finding the next place he needs to be. Without that, he might wander around aimlessly for hours. Many of our earliest nightmares had something to do with showing up at school late, in our pajamas, and not knowing where we needed to be.

Prejudice is a kind of mis-orientation that predetermines our reaction to anything coming from a certain quarter. There are factions in the world today so envious and resentful of America that anything we do is reinterpreted as having evil motives, seeking to dominate and destroy other cultures, and invade the lives of innocent parties. Not all these factions are overseas; many of these voices come from political parties presently out of power. Most of our news media seems to echo that edginess about America and its policies. Suspicion is an orientation. It's always right, because all it sees is reinterpreted in light of the orientation.

Similarly, rabid patriotism, my country right or wrong , is an orientation. That can blind our eyes to the things we do wrong and should fix, like racism in the 50s and 60s. We have reason to be proud of our country, to fly its colors and feel a lump in our throat at the singing of The Star Spangled Banner . But our country is great only if we maintain a watch over ourselves, govern ourselves justly and in God's sight. That was the wonder of the vision of our founding fathers. They believed God's principles, worshipped Him as their only king, and created a human government without kings to be shaped like the City of God, a new civilization.

Giti and I were just back in Virginia, and we visited Montpelier , the home of James Madison, and The Cedars , the home of George Mason. Both these men were instrumental in writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They were giants of both reason and virtue, and our nation's founding documents are still the model of self-government throughout the world. Their orientation was toward a nation of Christians, or those who at least subscribed to the ethics of our faith. People so oriented could rule their own lives, and if so, they could govern a nation.

Today, everything seems up for grabs to the highest bidder. 51% makes right, no matter how stupid, immoral and self-destructive the cause may be. We may despair our fate, but these are not the only times when men have clamored for foolish things. I find that the entire Book of Proverbs, mostly written by Solomon, speaks about orientation. “as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7 is just a sample of these sayings, all about attitude, orientation, perspective, and viewpoint.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” 3:5 “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 3:11-12 “Do not envy a man of violence, And do not choose any of his ways. For the crooked man is an abomination to the Lord; But He is intimate with the upright. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. The wise will inherit honor.” 3:31-35 “For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom, Nor will he be content though you give many gifts.” 6:34-35 “The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their walk are His delight.” 11:20 “The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.” 11:23 “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid.” 12:1 “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.” 12:6 “All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, Than great treasure and turmoil with it. Better is a dish of vegetables where love is, Than a fattened ox and hatred with it. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger pacifies contention. The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns, But the path of the upright is a highway. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother. Folly is joy to him who lacks sense, But a man of understanding walks straight.” 15:15-21

You see how all these sayings are about orientation. We can't be wise just by wanting to appear wise. Wisdom is understanding from experience just how things really are, and what is likely to come of an attitude leading to an action. If our attitude stinks, our actions will follow suit. It's inevitable. In wisdom we will act according to the way things are, as viewed from above. In folly, we will react according to our own warped self-interest, without guiding principles, without God's perspective, without knowing how that will work out in the long run, or how it will affect others. Acting in self-interest can be the most self-destructive course of action. We cut ourselves off from help. We abandon all our lifelines. We reject God. All alone, we sulk: “I knew it would turn out like this.” That's orientation.

Jesus taught a lot about orientation. He had God's viewpoint about everything. His parables were lessons in attitude. Take the Good Samaritan . Everyone's orientation is exposed by this simple story. To the scribe, the wounded man was merely a subject to discuss; to the robbers, he was an easy mark; to the religious men, he was a problem to be avoided; to the innkeeper, he was a customer to serve for a fee; to the Samaritan, he was a human being worth caring for. To Jesus, all of them and all of us were worth dying for.

Christ's parable in today's Gospel was given in the context of Pharisees who thought the company Jesus kept lowered His status beneath their own. He spoke of a lost lamb and how a good shepherd leaves the flock in safety and, at his own risk, goes to find the lost. Likewise, a woman who has lost a valuable piece of silver searches until she finds it. Both rejoice at finding the lost possession. So is the attitude of heaven toward a sinner who turns back to God. Why were the Pharisees' hearts so hard?

Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount to explain it is more than mere outward obedience and compliance with rules that show a redeemed person. It's the workings of the heart, a change in orientation to that of God. Jesus taught, “Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him; because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated? …That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mark 7:18-23 Orientation.

Before our behavior, we have to be oriented toward God and His will. Christ said, “Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? …for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:31-33 That's Orientation. God and His will first, then your own desires and needs, your behavior, your actions will follow in the right spirit.

St. Paul wrote : “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philip. 4:4-7 “… at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philip. 4:10-13

That's a healthy orientation. If you can praise God in all circumstances, you display your trust in Him. And not a blind, silly kind of praise. Not a praising and worshipping when things are abysmal, showing you don't know what's going on. Like blind patriotism, blind positivism can be a way of avoidance and denial. Christ didn't rejoice at Gethsemane, but He ultimately showed He trusted His Father's decision.

Humility, resisting pride, reorienting ourselves to the viewpoint God has on the things that affect our lives, letting God take care of us, being serious and vigilant against the enemy: these are signs of a healthy person oriented and aware. Nothing can knock him over. His prayers and communion with God will orient him and in time will perfect his walk in this life and the next.

PFH+