Imposter complex can be debilitating. It can come to the surface when we walk into a gathering and immediately feel that we do not belong. We may tell ourselves that we lack sufficient knowledge, the correct credentials or qualifications, or simply do not have the required skills.
This feeling can arise at work, but it can also surface on a Sunday when we gather with others for worship. We may feel in awe of others’ skills, maturity and abilities, and wonder what, if anything, we have to offer.
We may also ask how we could ever become like those who seem so gifted.
Such doubts can persist no matter how long someone has attended church, even after they have contributed much to the life of the fellowship.
Before God
Subsequently, this complex takes a step up when we come before our loving Lord in prayer and worship, as we wonder with trembling how we could be in His presence. In short, this is really where we are not worthy to be in that situation because of His holiness and our sinfulness.
Indeed, all Christians should meet God in the same way of feeling inferior before Almighty God. In Isaiah chapter six, the prophet encounters the train of the Lord filling the temple and was prompted to lament: “Woe to me…I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (v5). And that was merely his response to observing God’s garment without seeing the Lord Himself.
The glory of the situation is that Christ Jesus has taken our sin and dealt with it through His finished work on the cross. He alone has raised us to be who we should be – “in Him” as Ephesians chapter one reminds us constantly, that no one or thing can take away from us (Romans 8v31-39).
The Early Church Father Augustine observed that “When all seems lost, God’s grace is enough. God does not give a Gift inferior to Himself.” [1] In short, Christ came down to lift us up. He sees us as we are (inferior) and wants to graft us into His body (superior) for all eternity.
The amazement at the gift of grace is expressed by Lewis Smedes: “Grace flowed from Jesus as pardon from sins I was guilty of committing. Guilt was not my problem. What I felt was a glob of unworthiness that I could not tie down to any concrete sins I was guilty of. What I needed more than pardon was a sense that God accepted me, owned me, held me, affirmed me, and would never let go of me even if he was not too impressed with what he had on his hands.” [2]
For eternity
The ground before the throne of God in heaven will be level, just as is the ground before the cross.
As no one can call upon their merit or worth to claim hold of salvation, certainly not ahead of anyone else; likewise, no person can enjoy the presence of God for ever by their own efforts or means, for “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7v10).
All who now experience imposter complex will no longer do so as we will be with our Saviour for ever, not because of who we are or what we have done, but because Jesus has welcomed us home as the result of who He is and what He has done.
- William Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Volume 3 (Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1979), p. 44 where the fuller quotation is given.
- Lewis Smedes, Shame & Grace: Healing the shame we don’t deserve (HarperOne, 1993), p. 80
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