Pride is a huge turn-off

Every now and then I get upset when it seems someone is telling others they need Jesus with the underlining message that the other person is not acceptable unless they are a Christian. The other person seems resentful of this put-down and less interested in hearing more.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit’s task is to convict sinners about their unbelief. This does not mean that I should merely pray and never tell others the good news of the gospel. It does mean that my attitude should never be one of superiority because I am saved and considered righeous in God’s sight but that other person is still in sin and not acceptable.  

The Bible is full of instruction on the attitudes God wants in my life. They are summed up in loving Him and loving others. That love for others is exemplified in Jesus Christ. He told His disciples:

Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)

This means Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not to save the righteous, the fervent, and the earnest workers, but simply and only to save sinners. Some will say they are too far gone to save. At the other end of the spectrum are those who boast that God saved them, as if they somehow deserved it. Besides…

By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This means that no one, even the most pious of God’s children, can lord it over others as if their position in Christ makes them superior. Jesus came to save sinners and that attitude is contrary to the reason Jesus saved me! Pride has no place in why He did it.

Perhaps one of the reasons that the Apostle Paul was mightily used by God is about his attitude. He said this:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1 Timothy 1:15)

Instead of putting himself on a pedestal, this man of God identified with those Jesus came to save. He was merciful and even though he led a sacrificial life, it was not characterized by a self-righteous attitude nor did he use his position in Christ to manipulate others. He wrote about his attitude:

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away! (2 Corinthians 10:1)
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. (1 Thessalonians 2:7)
In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)

Today’s devotional warns me not to fix my eyes on myself or wonder if I am ‘good enough’ because I cannot answer these questions for myself, never mind impose such questions to others in the hope that they will be convicted of their sin and want to know Christ and salvation. All that would do is exalt self and fill me with self-congratulation and pride… and turn off the other person.

PRAY: Lord, in this I realize that exalting myself for not exalting myself is a form of pride too. Enable humility that shows up in all my interactions with others, even in my interactions with those who are filled with pride at being saved from sin. They don’t deserve even the least of Your mercies — and neither do I.
 

A deadly slippery slope

 

READ Judges 17–21

Today’s reading is like a horror movie. First, a man of Israel stole from his mother, admitted it and she gave some of what he had stolen to make a batch of household gods like those worshiped by the nations that the Lord’s people were to defeat. He went farther by consecrating one of his sons as his priest, thus establishing his own cult and belief system. His actions are summed up: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)

Pausing here, this shows the rock-bottom results of doing our own thing. Isaiah wrote that sin is “turning to our own way” and how easily we do it, particularly in spiritual matters as well as every-day matters. This man thought this was the right thing to do because there was no leadership to tell him otherwise. Going my own way is like that, whether there is no leader or I refuse to listen to or obey whatever authority I do have. In the matter of worship, my authority is the Word of God, but I cannot read it and then do whatever I think is right without putting myself on a slippery slope.

In the next section of this reading, a young Levite happens to visit this man and winds up accepting the role of his personal priest and being paid for it. It is enough to say that serving God for money is not serving God at all. He did it for what he could get out of it.

Soon a larger group from an Israeli tribe came along and took the Levite and the idols for themselves. They told this ‘priest’ to: “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.” (Judges 18:19–20) Eventually those carved images were set up and treated as their gods.

Again I pause. Is this not still happening? How many go their own way, establish their own religious group, enjoy financial prosperity, and consider their growth as ‘better’ and even proof that they are on the right track? Reading this makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach.

But it gets worse. Another Levite  has a concubine, a term for someone other than a primary wife, even a sex-slave. She was unfaithful, left him and went to her father’s house. He went to retrieve her and wound up in a drinking party with her father that lasted for several days. Then he took her to another place, was taken in by an older man, ate and drank while “worthless” men gathered at the door wanting to “know” this young man, a euphemism for sex. The older fellow offered them his virgin daughter and the concubine instead, but they didn’t listen. The Levite made his concubine go out and they abused her all night until she died. What did the Levite do? He cut her into twelve pieces and sent them to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The upshot was a war with the clan or tribe where this happened. At first, that tribe seemed to win, but were eventually defeated. The Israelites swore not to give any of their daughters in marriage to that tribe. However, they felt sorrow for that decision and arranged another battle to secure young women for them, plus allowed them to kidnap their women, thus ensuring this one tribe would not be lost because there were no more marriages.

The book ends with: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25) and again I think this is the bottom of that slippery slope, the result of giving in to doing what a deceived mind thinks is right rather than listening to and obeying God.

This brings to mind an incredible series of sermons in our church about the Seven Deadly Sins — and why they are so deadly. If any of them are committed and not taken to the Lord in confession and repentance, they will eventually lead to death. They begin with that attitude of “it seems like a good idea” but end in great calamity. Doing what is right in our own eyes does not work out well.

God warns His people, yet history shows that sin is stronger than warnings. It is only overcome by the powerful work of Jesus Christ who died for it and lives in us that we might have His power and grace to overcome our foolish and destructive “I wants” that otherwise will destroy us.

Lord Jesus, I am so grateful to You for giving me Yourself, Your life, Your loving forgiveness and the power to say NO to all the ideas that fly through my head in opposition to Your leading and Your will. Without You, I know what I would do, and it would not be pretty. Thank You for saving me from myself.

 

A Humbling Thing

 

 

READ: Psalm 21-25

After flying home from our short holiday, we watched our church service online. The message was about the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins — pride, the worst because it is the root of all sin. Pride is trusting me when I should be trusting the Lord, as if I am wiser, kinder, and more able than He is to make my life as it should be. Such an insanity!

Today’s reading includes this familiar psalm and I must begin with it — mostly because it contains the words of a humble man of God’s own heart:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1–6)

I recognize pride in me when I stop giving glory to my Shepherd and promote myself in boasting or other ways of seeking recognition. I also recognize it when I have a pity-party because I think I deserve better or I am comparing myself to others and feeling sorry for poor me. Pride also shows up in self-reliance rather than relying on the Lord, and in self-righteousness when I think and act like I am better than others. Pride is a relationship-ruining attitude with self at the center. The only answer or cure for it is to see myself through God’s eyes and to consider others more important than me, just as Jesus does.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4)

First, for any posts that smack of pride, I ask forgiveness. As our pastor said, many of our prideful words and actions happen without our awareness. He also suggested to ask God to reveal whatever prideful attitudes are in me:

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

Fixing my eyes on God always has a humbling effect. As the psalmist prays, I must also pray:

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! (Psalm 25:4–7)

The Lord “leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way” (Psalm 25:9) and even if I am motivated by pride to do what is right, God’s leading and teaching soon make me aware that doing what is right is impossible without His grace and enabling. That is humbling to a proud person and so it should be.

Humility is about fearing God, not the fear like terror but the fear of incredible awe. This God has chosen me to be His child. This Almighty God who is holy and without flaw loves sinners and sent His Son to die for us — while we were still sinners. He didn’t wait until I got my act together, or wait until I realized that I am totally unable to get my act together. He picked me up and made me His own, knowing that I would need a lifetime to realize even in a small way that I am a proud and stubborn soul. And in the doing of that, He also teaches me to fear Him and choose His way instead of my own ideas and plans.

Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. (Psalm 25:12–14)

All this to say that I still consider myself God’s spoiled brat, not boasting about it but realizing that I will never deserve even the least of His blessings, yet He blesses me anyway — out of the goodness and love in His heart — an incredible humbling thing.