Jas 4:6-7 (NIV)
But
he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but
shows favour to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you.
With God against us we are in serious trouble. I
sometimes wish there were not so many indications in the Bible that God opposes
pride. Though we know pride is wrong it seems more difficult than anything else
to stay humble. We take pride in our weaknesses and pride in our successes.
Many are proud of nationality, gender, or accomplishments or proud of our
family or our faithfulness. If people affirm us and say good things about us we
are tempted to believe we have done something to deserve such praise. Before
God we will never have anything to boast about. Any great thing we might do is
only done by his resources freely given and undeserved. When we have been
faithful we still need to acknowledge our unworthiness. This sort of self
denial goes against the blatant self promotion so much encouraged in society
today. The more humble we are the more effective in mission we will be. Lord may I help others to get the right perspective
neither paralysed by lack of confidence nor handicapped through pride.
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