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Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud. Proverbs 16:19
It always amazes me when I hear about a celebrity of some sort that makes the news because of some tragedy. Drug abuse, poor financial decisions, physical abuse and robbery are just a few that come to mind.
What happens in the human mind that does that to a person. They have it all! Fame, power, money and a huge social media following, yet they throw it all away for what seem like momentary and insignificant enjoyment.
On the other hand you will hear of people of lesser means who spend their entire lives helping others, encouraging the weak, providing for others no better off than themselves.
Power and fame often lead to pride and pride destroys a person. The prideful person doesn’t always have a clear view of life. They see things from a perspective of invincibility.
The humble person sees life from a perspective of need. Pride drives us to always want more. Humility instills in us a feeling of contentment. Prideful people live a life of entitlement, humble people live a life of gratitude. Pride can put us in a mindset of always wanting more, humility reminds us we have all we need. Prideful people are often critical, humble people tend to o be more understanding.
Proverbs 16:19 has it right. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard successful people say their best years were the years of humility and poverty. Stop striving for what you don’t have, start giving from what you do have and you’ll find life is better.
By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. Romans 5:1 (CEV)
Have you ever been in a lake on a windy day? When you are on the surface your body is jostled about be the waves. But dive down deep and the world becomes still. Almost eerily still. Sometimes you don’t need to go very deep to experience the calmness below the surface, but the deeper you go, the more unaffected by the surface you become.
That’s peace. The inner peace we all seek for our souls. Within the heart of every human being there is a desire to be at peace with the heart, the seat of emotions. When that peace is gone we seek earnestly to fill the void it left behind. The thing is we are all born with that void. That deep longing to belong, to be loved, to be accepted, to be…at peace.
So from a very young age we begin the journey. At first the peace we seek is elementary. We want our diaper changed, our nap and our bottle. Then, repeat.
As we get older our demands become more pronounced. We want toys, we want friends, we want ice cream for breakfast. We want, in essence our own way. The desire for our own way is the foundation for our search for peace. The Bible has a word for that demand for our own way: pride. Sounds like harsh word, but in our most honest moments we have to admit it’s the driving force for our search for peace. We’ve been duped into believing that peace comes when we are satisfied and we are satisfied when we get what we want.
Satan’s initial revolt against Jehovah God was summed up in two words, “I will”. We’ve been saying the same thing ever since in more subtle ways.
“I will be treated like a king/queen by my spouse.”
“I will be treated rightly at my job.”
“I will be allowed this spot in the parking lot.”
“I will be promoted before the guy that started last week.”
“I will have the latest toys and gadgets.”
The problem is, as long as we look to ourselves and those around us for the peace of our heart we will never enjoy the peace we seek. We’ll be like the boat on the surface of that lake, being tossed by the waves.
Peace of the heart, the inner peace buried deep within the soul can only come when we have peace with our God. That kind of peace only comes when we have come to the Father, confessed our sin (regardless of how small WE think it is), and repented (changed out attitude). Then, as we grow deeper, as we go deeper into a relationship with Christ, we gain more of the peace that so often evades us. Just like the swim at the lake, the deeper we go into Jesus, the less the wind of change will affect our peace.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. I confess to you that although I’ve known about you, I’ve still struggled to find peace. My guilt, my demands for my own way, the mistakes of my past continue to haunt me. Forgive me for trying to find peace on my own. Let me go deeper in you and find the peace that only comes through you. Amen.
Pride leads to destruction; humility leads to honor. Proverbs 18:12 (CEV)
I had just finished delivering what I thought was one of my better sermons in church. Those of us that are pastors or speakers know what I mean. There are times when you just click. The words flow, the message is clear; illustrations come to your mind that perfectly shows your point.
You see it in the crowd too. Few people sleeping, even the kids sitting still and listening. People seem to hang on every word. For some you can almost see the thought wheels turning!
After the service one of the people from the congregation shook my hand and said what a wonderful sermon it was. I heard myself say “Oh, it wasn’t me. It was the Lord.” She good naturedly punched me in the shoulder and said “Thank you would be the correct response pastor. True God gave you the words, but you were still a tool in his hands.”
I smiled, said thank you (as instructed) and we parted our ways. Later in the day I replayed the situation in my mind and realized a spiritual truth was given me that day. We in the church seem awfully hesitant to talk about our gifts and talents. We downplay them in an effort to keep from ‘pride’ because we all know that ‘pride goes before destruction.’
I’ve come to the opinion that we need to rethink the whole pride issue. If God loves me and created me as a ‘fearful and wonderful’ person, in his image, then it seems perfectly okay for me to feel good about myself.
One definition of pride is a ‘reasonable and justifiable self-respect’. Feeling good about me and who I am isn’t pride. The pride being spoken of in Proverbs isn’t about feeling good about yourself. It’s thinking I’m better than you. That’s not pleasing to God.
A healthy view of yourself means you are fully aware of your faults, but refuse to let others judge you by them. A healthy view of your self means you are fully aware of your talents and abilities but refuse to measure your level of ability/talent by someone else.
We tend to go in one of two directions. Either we feel badly about ourselves and hide it by bragging and putting others down, or we feel badly about ourselves and live in defeat because we don’t realize the position we have in Christ.
Destructive pride isn’t an action; it’s an attitude that develops over time because of our uncertainty about who we are.
So, go ahead. Be proud of yourself today. Not because you are better than the person in the desk next to you. Not because you are a better driver than the guy who cut you off. But because you, my friend, are a creation of God and given talents and abilities special to you, to be used for God’s Kingdom.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you today for me. I know I’m not perfect. I know I make mistakes. But because of you I can be proud of who you’ve made me and for the gifts and talents you’ve given me. Empower me by your Spirit to use the gifts, talents and abilities you’ve given me for your glory. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 