We're not good people, and that's ok

I listened to Brant Hansen all throughout my childhood when he was still one of Air 1's radio show hosts. His funny jokes and on-air personality were always mixed in with the music we would blast on our family car rides. It wasn't until I got older that my parents suggested that I start to read some of his books. Truthfully, I hadn't even been aware that he had written books. But I picked up our copy of Blessed Are the Misfits and knew within the first few pages that I had much more in common with the voice on the radio than I could have ever thought. This book, The Truth About Us, really does speak the truth. Essentially, Hansen expresses in his simple yet incredibly profound style of conversational writing that humans are not good, no matter how self-righteous we naturally are. In fact, every chapter is centered around innovative postures to help us fight against our self-righteousness and start truly living into humility. Every single chapter resonated with me in some way (and also succeeded in making me laugh at myself), especially the ones that focused on how we like to think we are in control of our lives when we are most definitely not (see Chapters 7, 16, and 17). In this season of plans being thwarted and anxiety concerning feeling out of place and out of control, this book really pointed me back to God. It provided me with explanations for my pride and refusal to say "I don't know" while also reminding me that it is imperative we get over ourselves and submit to the true authority that is Jesus. It is also a super easy read. It's hard to put down and full of really great scriptures that bolster its main ideas as well; any good book should point you back to scripture in some way, shape, or form. All in all, literally everyone should read this book because literally everyone deals with self-righteousness and can work on becoming a more humble and Christ-like individual every single day. Check out Brant Hansen's other books, too!


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Some of my favorite quotes from The Truth About Us:

"I've learned that Jesus is both terribly dangerous and terribly safe. For the proud, he is the biggest threat imaginable. And for the humble, he is the securest refuge."

"We need other people who will speak the truth to us, even when we don't want to hear it."

"We simply aren't as right, or as righteous, as we think we are."

"When we accept the reality of our own propensity to be wrong, we might be more patient with ourselves and gentler with others."

"I'm so glad for this thing called grace."

"My obedience changes my heart."

"I find I'm more prone to be for people as soon as I've prayed for them."

"We have to recognize we're self-righteous by default, and that means constantly correcting our imaginary views of ourselves."

"You can stand up, raise your right hand, and say, 'I'm not a good person. Lord, have mercy on me.' And you know what? He will." What good news this is!

"The more righteous we think we are, the more we diminish who God is, and the more we minimize what he's done for us."

"God has shown us our value through Jesus and promised us a glorious, secure future with him."

"Into this exhausting, conflicting mess steps Jesus, who loves his lost sheep." I really love this one.

"Yes, God wants our spirits broken, because if they're not broken, we will still be our own ultimate authority."

"Desperation, when it goes to Jesus, leads to peace. If our supposed goodness keeps us from desperation, we'll never get there,"

"We can just focus on today, trusting that there's a loving Father with a master plan."

"Repentance means no more attempts at self-justifying."

"We are always becoming something, even if it's not obvious to others on the outside."

"Life is better when I am conscious of being less defensive."

"... it's not our strength that can rescue us. We may as well admit it."

"Humility is realizing that we are not the authority, then submitting to the real authority."

"We're not good people, but we're deeply loved anyway." This basically sums up the whole book!

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