False Confidence 错误的信心

[Dexu Xia]

False Confidence

I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:8

A few years ago, my doctor gave me a stern talk about my health. I took his words to heart and began going to the gym and adjusting my diet. Over time, both my cholesterol and my weight went down, and my self-esteem went up. But then something not so good happened: I began noticing other people’s dietary choices and judging them. Isn’t it funny that often when we find a scoring system that grades us well, we use it to lift ourselves up and put others down. It seems to be an innate human tendency to cling to self-made standards in an attempt to justify ourselves—systems of self-justification and guilt-management.

Paul warned the Philippians about doing such things. Some were putting their confidence in religious performance or cultural conformity, and Paul told them he had more reason to boast of such things: “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more” (3:4). Yet Paul knew his pedigree and performance was “garbage” compared to “knowing Christ” (v. 8). Only Jesus loves us as we are, rescues us, and gives us the power to become more like Him. No earning required; no scorekeeping possible.

Boasting is bad in itself, but a boast based on false confidence is tragic. The gospel calls us away from misplaced confidence and into communion with a Savior who loves us and gave Himself for us.

What would it look like to trust in God’s grace today? How can you live and work from a place of rest and trust in His love for you?

Dear Jesus, thank You for Your love for me. I set aside the scorecards of self-justification. Those are misguided grounds of confidence.

错误的信心

我也将万事当作有损的，因我以认识-我主基督耶稣为至宝。我为祂已经丢弃万事。—腓立比书3章8节

几年前，我的医师和我严肃地讨论我的健康状况。我认真看待他的劝告，开始勤上健身房，并且调整饮食。一段时间之后，我的胆固醇和体重都明显下降，自信心也有所提升。但紧接着，一件不太好的事发生了：我开始会注意且评论别人的饮食方式。你会觉得奇怪吗？当我们发现某种方式能够提升自己的时候，就会藉此抬高自己、贬低别人。这似乎是人类天生的倾向，我们会坚持以自己订定的标准来为自己辩护，就是所谓的自我辩解和自我安慰。

使徒保罗也告诫腓立比教会不要做这样的事！他们有些人将信心放在虔诚的表现或传统文化上，而保罗告诉他们，其实他更有理由以此为夸耀：“若是别人想他可以靠肉体，我更可以靠着了”（3章4节）。但保罗知道，与“认识基督”相比，自己优良的家世和表现都是“粪土”（8节）。其实耶稣是按着每个人的本相爱我们、拯救我们，并赐给我们力量变得更像祂，这一切我们都不需要凭自身的努力或积德行善才能获得。

“自夸”本来就不好，由错误的信心而生的自夸则更悲哀。圣经要我们不要错放信心，而是亲近那位爱我们、为我们舍己的救主。

今天你若信靠上帝的恩典会带来什么改变？
你如何在生活和工作中信靠祂对你的爱？

亲爱的耶稣，谢谢祢爱我。求祢帮助我放下引以为傲的一切，因这些都是错误的信心。