Lesson 9 - Humility versus Pride
Do you consider yourself a humble person? If you are a Christian, that is the characteristic that should come to mind when people think of you. To be honest, I struggle with this. How often do we argue until we're declared "the winner". What is that? Pride! Do we sometimes feel that others could do better if they just "worked as hard as we have"...PRIDE! Do we want others to view us as intelligent, productive, funny, likeable...the list can go on and on....PRIDE. Pride is just what our guidebook states on page 95, "an obsession with one's own value", either by too high or too low self-esteem.
But then it goes on to define humility: "Humility, by contrast, is finding one's worth so securely in God's unearned favor that one is not very concerned about self-esteem at all...His [a humble person's] status compared to others doesn't matter much to him because his value in God's eyes is a settle issue."
I would say starting somewhere in the late 70s to early 80s, "self-esteem" became a focal point in our child raising and education systems. Nothing should be done to harm a child's "self-esteem". Well, we taught that well. What has resulted is a generation overdosed on self-esteem to the point of narcissism. Everyone deserves everything because their very existence makes them deserving of it. All the while we should have been teaching them that their value in God's eyes is what makes them worthy, and not of everything their eyes can see and their hands can touch, but worthy of God's favor, so much so that He sent His Son for their life, to redeem it unto Himself, so that they can live not in an anxiety-filled existence of comparing their assets, their fun, their looks, etc., to others, but living a peaceful, humble life pleasing to their Father who will bring them into His Kingdom for eternity.
This doesn't apply just to younger people...we've all fallen into the trap of striving to prove our worth, rather than accepting that maybe, just maybe, God has callen us to a simple life with no striving. Am I say we should all quit our jobs and live in hovels? No - God has asked us to work and be productive. But the difference is in our goals---are they goals that bring us glory, or God?
Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride comes before a fall...no matter what you take pride in, at some point someone else will outdo you. Then what? You are no longer king of the hill...your value has been diminished. But humility allows you to live knowing that there are others who very well may do better than you, and it doesn't matter. Because God loves them just as much as He loves you...and when we come to that recognition, humility has become a part of our lives. "Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves." Philippians 2:3
When times of honor come to us, we need to reflect David's humble acknowledgement of where honor comes, "Then King David went in, sat in the Lord's presence, and said, "Who am I, Lord God , and what is my house that You have brought me this far?" 2 Samuel 7:18. Or that of Paul, when reflecting on his salvation, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"-and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy because of this, so that in me, the worst [of them], Christ Jesus might demonstrate the utmost patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15-16
The verses given us to review on pages 97-98 give us some examples of pride: pretense/hypocrisy about our status; trying to impress others with what we know; putting our faith in our own achievements/wealth and attributing those to our own doing; being easily offended, holding a grudge, not willing to reconcile; bragging about our abilities; and bragging about abilities/gifts that we don't even really possess.
Solomon warns his son, "Do not be wise in your own eyes" Proverbs 3:7, and then in Proverbs 26:12 he declares such a person to in all actuality be a fool. How often do we perceive ourselves wise? When we have those feelings, let a warning be sounded in our soul!! Our wisdom, whatever we have, comes from God. He is the giver...nothing of ourselves.
Pride, in essence, is considering ourselves quite fine, thank you very much. And giving no one else, most importantly God, any credit for just how fine we've turned out. Apart from God, we are not fine, and never can be. I believe that's why pride tops God's list as to things He hates. He knows that pride turns our hearts to ourselves rather than to seeking Him. A prideful heart becomes a hard heart.
Please, Lord God, remove any pride that remains in my heart today. Remove it and do not let it re-enter. Let me have a heart that seeks Your blessing, and only Yours. Let me not be concerned with the gains of others, or compare myself to them. Let me view everyone that I meet as every bit as worthy as I am of Your love and salvation. Get the plank out of my eye, Oh Lord! Let it be removed so that I can see You clearly! Let Your Holy Spirit set my eyes on You and let me live humbly in Your presence. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
Do you consider yourself a humble person? If you are a Christian, that is the characteristic that should come to mind when people think of you. To be honest, I struggle with this. How often do we argue until we're declared "the winner". What is that? Pride! Do we sometimes feel that others could do better if they just "worked as hard as we have"...PRIDE! Do we want others to view us as intelligent, productive, funny, likeable...the list can go on and on....PRIDE. Pride is just what our guidebook states on page 95, "an obsession with one's own value", either by too high or too low self-esteem.
But then it goes on to define humility: "Humility, by contrast, is finding one's worth so securely in God's unearned favor that one is not very concerned about self-esteem at all...His [a humble person's] status compared to others doesn't matter much to him because his value in God's eyes is a settle issue."
I would say starting somewhere in the late 70s to early 80s, "self-esteem" became a focal point in our child raising and education systems. Nothing should be done to harm a child's "self-esteem". Well, we taught that well. What has resulted is a generation overdosed on self-esteem to the point of narcissism. Everyone deserves everything because their very existence makes them deserving of it. All the while we should have been teaching them that their value in God's eyes is what makes them worthy, and not of everything their eyes can see and their hands can touch, but worthy of God's favor, so much so that He sent His Son for their life, to redeem it unto Himself, so that they can live not in an anxiety-filled existence of comparing their assets, their fun, their looks, etc., to others, but living a peaceful, humble life pleasing to their Father who will bring them into His Kingdom for eternity.
This doesn't apply just to younger people...we've all fallen into the trap of striving to prove our worth, rather than accepting that maybe, just maybe, God has callen us to a simple life with no striving. Am I say we should all quit our jobs and live in hovels? No - God has asked us to work and be productive. But the difference is in our goals---are they goals that bring us glory, or God?
Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that pride comes before a fall...no matter what you take pride in, at some point someone else will outdo you. Then what? You are no longer king of the hill...your value has been diminished. But humility allows you to live knowing that there are others who very well may do better than you, and it doesn't matter. Because God loves them just as much as He loves you...and when we come to that recognition, humility has become a part of our lives. "Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves." Philippians 2:3
When times of honor come to us, we need to reflect David's humble acknowledgement of where honor comes, "Then King David went in, sat in the Lord's presence, and said, "Who am I, Lord God , and what is my house that You have brought me this far?" 2 Samuel 7:18. Or that of Paul, when reflecting on his salvation, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"-and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy because of this, so that in me, the worst [of them], Christ Jesus might demonstrate the utmost patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:15-16
The verses given us to review on pages 97-98 give us some examples of pride: pretense/hypocrisy about our status; trying to impress others with what we know; putting our faith in our own achievements/wealth and attributing those to our own doing; being easily offended, holding a grudge, not willing to reconcile; bragging about our abilities; and bragging about abilities/gifts that we don't even really possess.
Solomon warns his son, "Do not be wise in your own eyes" Proverbs 3:7, and then in Proverbs 26:12 he declares such a person to in all actuality be a fool. How often do we perceive ourselves wise? When we have those feelings, let a warning be sounded in our soul!! Our wisdom, whatever we have, comes from God. He is the giver...nothing of ourselves.
Pride, in essence, is considering ourselves quite fine, thank you very much. And giving no one else, most importantly God, any credit for just how fine we've turned out. Apart from God, we are not fine, and never can be. I believe that's why pride tops God's list as to things He hates. He knows that pride turns our hearts to ourselves rather than to seeking Him. A prideful heart becomes a hard heart.
Please, Lord God, remove any pride that remains in my heart today. Remove it and do not let it re-enter. Let me have a heart that seeks Your blessing, and only Yours. Let me not be concerned with the gains of others, or compare myself to them. Let me view everyone that I meet as every bit as worthy as I am of Your love and salvation. Get the plank out of my eye, Oh Lord! Let it be removed so that I can see You clearly! Let Your Holy Spirit set my eyes on You and let me live humbly in Your presence. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
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