Ugly Orthodoxy: How to Identify, Confess, and Rebeautify

Francis Schaeffer said, “There is nothing uglier than [Christian] orthodoxy without… compassion.”

When I reflect on my own lack of compassion toward other with whom I differ or disagree, I confess that it stems from the absence of humility. And the absence of humility is a denial of true Christian orthodoxy. Because at its root, Christian orthodoxy is an exposition of Philippians 2:5–8 (NIV84):

5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

From this text we see that humility is a lot like love. It’s not a passive emotion that responds to goodness but a volitional posture toward others grounded in grace with the aim not to condemn but to bless — and often, at great personal cost.