Finding Myself in a Humble Place

Dr. Jim Grier, Distinguished Professor of Philosophical Theology

Every so often it’s good to be humbled. It’s a necessary posture for learning and growing. And if you value learning and growing, as I do, then being humbled can be a good thing. And humbled is what I’ve been this week.

You see I’m taking Theology 576, Christian Ethics, at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary as part of my master’s degree program. The professor is Dr. Jim Grier, someone I’ve heard about for many years. He is a man who is brilliant, passionate, articulate and full of integrity. I’m thankful to be able to spend mornings for two weeks listening to and discussing ethics from a Christian perspective with him and our class.

But I’m surprised at my new-found humbleness because I honestly thought “how hard could ethics be?” My mom and dad raised me well, my faith guides my life and I always want to do the right things. So why would it be hard to make and live out good ethical decisions?

During the first morning it became apparent that I didn’t have the ethics thing figured out nearly as well as I thought. Over this first week of class I’ve discovered that, if I want to live and evaluate the issues of our world from a Christian ethical perspective, I have a ways to go.

But the good news is I am sitting under someone who has much to teach me. My humbled position has turned into a passion to understand as much as I can about Christians ethics so that I can live and lead in a way that honors Him.