Hello, my name is Terri Broome and I’m a self-aholic. I think all of our church services should start that way. It’s the truth. All our problems stem from one place… our own conceit. “Enough about me, let’s talk about you, what do you think about me?” It’s funny but tragically true.
The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 16:5
I don’t know about you, but that scripture kind of terrifies me. Why? Because I know I am proud. We all are. As soon as I think I’m not, something pops up in my life and lets me know I still struggle.
Maybe it will show up in the form of embarrassment. I’ve done something that shows my stupidity and I want to fall through a hole in the floor (happens quite often actually). That’s pride.
Or I’ve done something wonderful and I want to make sure I work it casually into conversation. Oh, how subtle pride is.
Or better yet, I didn’t want to write the two things I just shared because I’m proud and don’t want to admit them. Pride, admit it. We struggle.
“Admitting we are proud is the first step to humility.”
Good news for all of us. Admitting we are proud is the first step to humility.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
“Pride is a killer. It kills our relationship with God and others. It blinds us to who we really are and definitely to who God is.”
Pride is a killer. It kills our relationship with God and others. It blinds us to who we really are and definitely to who God is. Pride is what made the devil the devil. It was the reason he was cast out of heaven. He wanted to be exalted above God. Before any of us think how stupid that was, we often do the same. The fact we want to be exalted at all in the light of the cross, is an indictment on all of us.
Let me explain. The cross shows the world the depth of the depravity of humanity. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves. God had to come to earth in human flesh, live a perfect life, and die in our place. He had to suffer beyond human comprehension to satisfy God’s wrath against our sin.
Jesus’ perfection disgusted humanity because His very Presence exposed people for who they were. How did humanity respond? “Crucify Him!” Those truths alone should mean we never struggle with pride. Yet we do.
“Human praise is a drug that ultimately makes us miserable.”
Human praise is a drug that ultimately makes us miserable. Why? First, we can never get enough of it. Second, deep down, we know it’s not true. We are not praiseworthy, God is.
That’s the reason praising Him brings us deep satisfaction. When we praise the praiseworthy One, we feel safe. In that moment, we know all is right in the world. It feeds our soul when our spirit pours out praise.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.
John 4:23
“God does not need our worship. We desperately need to worship Him.”
Every single command we are given in scripture is the key to abundant life. God does not need our worship. We desperately need to worship Him. When we seek praise for ourselves, God knows what our lives will be. People will avoid us. We won’t have friends. We will suck the life out of everyone.
“We become full of God’s Spirit as we empty ourselves.”
When we praise God and forget about ourselves, we become a fountain of Life. We become full of God’s Spirit as we empty ourselves. His Life will start to flow on such a level that we are completely satisfied. We won’t be able to keep all the joy and love to ourselves. It will naturally spill out to all the people around us.
The only person in the world who ever had a right to be proud was Jesus Christ. He was perfect. He had authority over nature, sin, sickness, and everything else. We see who He really was on the Mount of Transfiguration. His glory was so bright, it couldn’t be described. Yet, He was humble. He washed feet. He did the job no self-respecting Jew would ever lower themselves to do. Oh people, do we know who our God is? Who do we think we are?
Let’s let these words soak into our souls….
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the SAME as that of Christ Jesus.
Who being in very nature God
Did not consider equality with God
Something to be grasped,
But made Himself NOTHING,
Taking the very nature of a
SERVANT
Being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a
Man,
He humbled Himself
And became obedient to death–
Even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3-8
“When we become a silent servant for the glory of God, we get a deep satisfaction that is inward. Deep in our hearts, we will feel the pleasure of God.”
Those words are the key to defeating pride. They are so opposite of how we think and live, yet they are the truth. That’s why I said we have to go to scripture and mix it with faith. We don’t believe humbling ourselves and becoming a servant will bring us joy. Reading it won’t produce life. Doing it will. We can’t do it so people will notice. We have to do it for an audience of One. When we become a silent servant for the glory of God, we get a deep satisfaction that is inward. Deep in our hearts, we will feel the pleasure of God. The Kingdom inside of us will flourish and grow. We will become confident in the same manner Jesus was. He knew who He was so He had nothing to prove…ever. He lived to do the will of His Father and nothing else.
But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 4:32-34
“What food is to our physical life, God’s will is to our spiritual life.”
Jesus’ words are so simple yet profound. He was telling all of us that ultimate satisfaction is to do the will of God. What food is to our physical life, God’s will is to our spiritual life. When we become the least important person on the planet, we will become the most satisfied and happy person we know. This takes faith.
Jesus is our leader and He led by example. He made Himself “nothing.” That word means “without recognition, perceived as valueless.”
The most valuable Being in the universe humbled Himself.
“God can humble us, but He would prefer we humble ourselves.”
The cure for our addiction is brutal but effective. God can humble us, but He would prefer we humble ourselves. His ultimate goal in our humility is to exalt us. Because when we are lifted up, we are lifted up to Him.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:10
