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No Proper Sense of Inadequacy
Peggy Noonan is one of America’s finest political writers. She is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
In a not-so-flattering article about fellow-Republican Sarah Palin, Noonan wrote, “Actually, it’s arguable that membership in the self-esteem generation harmed her. For 30 years the self-esteem movement told the young they’re perfect in every way. It’s yielding something new in history: an entire generation with no proper sense of inadequacy.”
I do not know Sarah Palin, nor do I have any interest in analyzing her qualities as a politician. But Noonan’s words caught my attention—“an entire generation with no proper sense of inadequacy.”
My wife is a public school teacher. She is a master at motivating students to reach new heights, but she has no use for the self-esteem movement. “For the extraordinary I will praise my students all day long,” Cathryn says. “But praising them for accomplishing what is expected of everyone is setting them up for failure. When they get to the real world, they’ll think they deserve a star just for showing up!”
We can draw parallels to the life of the church. Over a single generation there has been an unfortunate decline in the overall knowledge base of many Christian leaders. While relationally capable, with great understanding of their specific areas of ministry, many simply do not know what they do not know.
Some have no idea their ignorance about the environment might impact their ability to preach the reconciliation of all things to God. Clueless about how self-referential they are, others totally miss the privilege of having been raised as middle-class Americans. Some are devoid of even basic knowledge about any worldview other than the Evangelical one in which they were raised. We cannot identify the difference between a Shiite and a Sunni, though entire wars are fought over those differences.
I include myself among those whose base of knowledge is deficient. I spent a lot of time sheltered in a cocoon where I was told I was perfectly adequate in every way. I was not. I have been embarrassed at the number of times I have not had enough understanding of an issue to be able to hold a cogent conversation with a New York neighbor.
If we are unaware of our limitations or overestimate the adequacy of our knowledge, we are setting up the church for a rude awakening. Is this not how wars are started, movements lost, and mankind diminished?
I agree with Peggy Noonan. A proper sense of inadequacy can be a good thing. It is a virtue to know what you do not know.
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