One of Dallas Willard’s teachings that has been revolutionary for me as an apprentice to Jesus is what he calls indirection. Indirection is the principle that spiritual transformation into Christ’s character is achieved not by trying directly to obey his commands, but by training indirectly through spiritual disciplines in God’s grace to become the kind of person who obeys naturally.

Willard illustrates the difference between the direct vs indirect approaches with the words “trying” vs “training.” Trying is attempting to directly bend one’s will and behavior toward obedience. At its best, this approach leads to behavior modification and doesn’t address the interior reality of our thoughts, emotions, will, and soul. In contrast, indirection is doing what we can currently do in our power to learn and build foundational structures that indirectly rearrange a person’s interior life to interact with God’s grace. This results in an easy and routine obedience from the inside-out. Doing what is good and right becomes second nature as our character is aligned with Jesus.

A good example of indirection is Willard’s approach to humility. In his book, Hearing God, he says:

“God will gladly give humility to us if, trusting and waiting on him to act, we refrain from pretending we are what we know we are not, from presuming a favorable position for ourselves and from pushing or trying to override the will of others.”

Humility isn’t gained by direct attempts at self-deprecation or forcing yourself to think of yourself as less than you are. Rather, it’s moment-by-moment training as you stop pretending, presuming, and pushing. 

The discipline of not pretending means don’t exaggerate. Don’t drop names. Don’t tell the story in a way that makes you look better than what actually happened. Don’t share information so you look like you know more about a subject.

The discipline of not presuming means don’t assume you should be treated in a particular way. Don’t worry about what others say about you. Don’t try to influence how others think of you. Simply be exactly who you are right where you are.

The discipline of not pushing means don’t control. Don’t manipulate through emotions, words, or actions. Don’t micro-manage. Don’t try to make things happen.

In his book, Life Without Lack, Willard states this about humility:

“Humility is the beautiful condition of people who have learned to surrender their desires, their glory, and their power.”

I believe one of the reasons he describes this condition as beautiful is that it comes from the inward transformation of the person’s character. They are not forcing themselves to rely on God. It takes place easily and naturally. There’s no compulsion to manage the circumstances and people in their lives. They are joyfully content and satisfied in God’s outcomes.

There isn’t an effective direct approach to developing this kind of humility. Like all transformation, it comes as a gift of God’s grace as we cooperate and train with him through small doable practices.