Another look at Brokenness

Have you ever been listening to a sermon, and you feel like you are riding passenger in a car flying down the interstate at 80MPH, agreeing with everything said?  Then .... what happened??  Did someone fall asleep at the wheel? Suddenly you are headed down a back road with no other cars, no lights, and occasional road signs with pictures of chainsaws. Now would be a good time to think about turning around, if you haven’t already. (Caution: if you always feel this way at your church, check bulletin to see if it says anything about being a ‘latter day saint’.  Then flee).

Sometimes I feel like this happens to me when the issue of brokenness is preached by pastors or Christians.  Brokenness, in a spiritual sense, is generally portrayed as a virtue in the life of a Christian. How is this something productive? To be perfectly honest, there is usually something in me that doesn’t want to be broken, weak, or ‘crushed in spirit’ – especially on my good days. So why do many preachers put such a high premium on a ‘broken’ Christians, and more importantly, what does the Bible say about brokenness?

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17

Brokenness over Sin is a good thing (and necessary)

The context of Psalm 51 is King David pleading over his own blood guiltiness (v 14), his transgressions (v1), and sin (v3).  He was experiencing real contrition over his own poor decisions and having made a mess of his life. He felt the weight of his shame and pleaded with God for the creation of a pure heart and renewed steadfast spirit. (v10-11).

Why is this a good thing? The answer is because God ‘will not despise it’, and he considers a contrite heart better than sacrifice. In other words, there is nothing we can do to distract God. He is aware of everything, and He cannot be appeased. No amount of hybrid driving, bible status updating, fair trade coffee buying, lots of money giving, small money giving, or any other kind of giving will look good to God if they are brought as alter sacrifices and propitiation for your shortcomings. He doesn’t need them. For more on this, check out “Irreverent, Silly, Myths” by Matt Chandler via Youtube.

Brokenness sanctioned by God is for good

In Psalm 51:8 David seeks to hear joy and gladness, ‘that the bones You have broken may rejoice.’ In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul says that ‘a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” In each case, God allows or even prescribes his servant to be weak in the flesh and in spirit, so that his glory may be on display even greater in their lives. Throughout the Bible God uses weak willed, disspirited people to fulfill his promises and plan - Moses, Job, David, Jonah, and Peter to name a few.

“A merry heart does good, like medicine. But a broken spirit dries the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

 Solomon writes that a merry heart is such a good thing, that it is medicinal to the body. So do David and Solomon just disagree on having a broken spirit? Seems a little strange that Solomon would write a proverb about being merry in the heart (Ecclesiastes says 'gladness' of the heart), but the rest of the Bible would teach us to be broken.  

I think the harmony comes in this fashion: that God breaks us of our sin through the power of Christ on the cross, than restores us to gladness through satisfaction in Him. More on this to come later.

 Some particular sections of Ecclesiastes 3 come to mind at this point:

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die….time to kill, and a time to heal…. a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance……a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."