Unqualified

Back in April, The Guardian published a story about Princeton Professor of Economics Johannes Haushofer and his CV of Failures. The anti-resume, which he distributed widely via social media, contains sections titled, "Degree programs I did not get into," "Research funding I did not get," "Paper rejections from academic journals," "Academic positions and fellowships I did not get," and "Awards and scholarships I did not get." Haushofer hopes the document will give his students some perspective when considering his successes.While it's a bit easier to talk about one's failures on the other side of great success (we're looking at you, Thomas Edison), it's still a noteworthy act, if only for it's extremely counter-cultural nature. We are professional curators of our own image, preening and protecting, as though the best things about us (and only the best things) ought to be, must be, projected far and wide.We're all cynical enough to know that your reputation determines your standing in this world, and we all naturally assume that this extends to life in God's world as well. But Paul tells the Philippians (and us!) in chapter 3:1-11 that this is the most dangerous leap of logic you could possibly make. You'd be better off bringing your "CV of Failures" to God than to try and approach him with your most meticulously manicured resume of merits. He'll also give them some insight into how the qualifications we present to God will be those which we demand as credentials from others. More on that this Sunday. Until then, I leave you with what Professor Haushofer calls his great meta-failure: “This darn CV of Failures has received way more attention that my entire body of academic work.”Perhaps there's something to that.- Josh