Monday 5th June
Read 2 Corinthians 11:16-21
“I repeat: let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!” (NIVUK)
A recent survey in the US revealed that two thirds of people believed they were above average. Perhaps the more advanced you are in your career the more susceptible you may be. A 1977 study revealed that 94% of professors thought they were better than their peers (i.e other professors)! Most people asked to rate themselves on a scale of 1-10, in many areas, will give themselves a 7. Although at least some of the folk who believe they are above average actually are, what is it that explains what psychologists have called ‘illusory superiority’? Where does such illusory superiority spring from?
The ’super-apostles’ plaguing the Corinthians church certainly thought they were superior and seemed to delight in drawing everyone’s attention to their superiority. The Corinthians also thought they were above average in all things spiritual, endowed with great wisdom and insight into matters mere mortals struggled to comprehend (v19). How does one communicate with such superior beings? This is the conundrum Paul faces. If they only fluently speak ‘boast’ and only clearly hear ‘boast’ then he may just have to lower himself to speak to them in a way they may understand.
For mental health reasons it is probably sensible to consider yourself above average. It protects one’s self-esteem! But Paul clearly thinks ‘boasting’, about pretty much anything, is not particularly spiritually healthy. It got me thinking about what I boast about. We all do after all. It was a little confronting when I recalled the number of conversations conducted with others where I described all the wonderful things about our church. Without consciously doing it, it seemed we always compared favourably with other churches. Yes, there are some weaknesses, but our strengths were obviously better strengths and our weaknesses are in areas that are less important…
Is our small church really a ‘7’? Or do we all, like me perhaps, suffer from ‘illusory superiority’? We are about to embark on a master-class in the real criteria against which we should assess ourselves, personally and corporately. Let’s all pray that we pass the test (cf 2 Corinthians 13:5-6), always remembering that Jesus will hold onto us and love us.
