| “Every one that exalteth [to raise high] himself shall be abased [brought down low]: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14). |
| Pride in ourselves is something that is fostered and encouraged in children and young people today. We are all naturally proud, but today it is considered to be a good thing instead of something wrong. An article in the Reader’s Digest some years ago said the following — “When we are proud of our self-image, we feel confident and free to be ourselves … A miracle happens to the person whose self-esteem has been raised. He suddenly likes other people better. He is kinder and more cooperative with those around him. Praise is the polish that helps keep his self-esteem bright and sparkling.” The end result of this is that often people are praised and rewarded for poor work, when in fact they have not done their best. People are rewarded and encouraged for laziness and sloppiness, because it is not “politically correct” to tell them they have done a poor job. Sometimes so-called New Age philosophy merges with all this, even to the point of telling us that we are all gods, and that the very essence of God is in every one of us. We are told to think highly of ourselves, for according to this philosophy, we are, in fact, really gods. We do not need to remind ourselves that this is blasphemy. (Blasphemy is irreverent talk or expressions about God.) There is only one God! |
| But as always, the wisdom of God is the opposite of man’s wisdom, and we find in the Bible that every form of pride is wrong. Why is it wrong? Because it takes the glory that belongs to God and gives it to us. You and I have no right to be proud, for we are created beings, and before our Creator we should be humble. It is true that we have God-given abilities, and it is good to recognize them, and use them. To say that I am worthless is to dishonor God who created us. But to be proud of what we are is the wrong response. |
| The right response to our having some ability in natural things, or having some spiritual gift as a Christian, is to be thankful for it, yet giving the Lord all the credit. Paul had to tell this to the Corinthians, who were a proud people. He reminded them, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Let us remember that anything that is good in us, whether naturally (being musical, or a good athlete) or as Christians, ultimately comes from God. To be humble is to be Christ-like. |
