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An e-mail arrived yesterday with a lesson I’ll not soon
forget. This missile from a respected minister and friend
told of a recent personal inventory of his motives in life
and described a change of heart that would be good for us
all. He began by saying his passion in the past had been to
be right. He had studied hard so he would be right on
theological matters. He had chosen high moral standards so
he would always be doing right, not wrong. And while these,
admittedly, are good goals, he is now facing the fact that
these admirable traits can be based on the vice of pride.
The clincher for this good man came, he
says, when he looked into the Bible and discovered that his
mindset was most closely in line, not with the apostles, the
repentant Samaritan woman at the well, the lepers of that
time or the like – but was more like that of the Pharisees
who were given to self righteousness and pride. In his
words: “I was thinking highly of myself based on what I
didn’t do, rather than looking at my heart to see why I
chose what I did.”
What was the result of my friend’s
personal inventory?
Let him answer our question.
"God’s standard is now engraved into my
memory, not to be forgotten. Let all that you do be done
with love (1 Corinthians 16:14).”
Love is closely associated with
humility.
Pride calls attention to us. Humility
turns the spotlight on the needs, opinions and
accomplishments of others.
To wonder special blessings are
promised to the humble (James 4:10).
How does humility affect a husband and
father? He stops cutting down his wife and roaring in anger
at his children. He no longer thinks of himself as a
dictator but as a servant of those he loves.
How does humility affect a driver?
He’s not angered by the unintended mistakes of other
drivers. He doesn’t think all others on the road need
driving lessons and stops shouting his instructions to
them.
How does humility affect relationships
between church leaders and pastors? They understand that
there aren’t any perfect preachers and humbly pray for those
charged with ministering to them.
R.A. Torrey, the biographer of the
world known evangelist, D.L. Moody, said Moody was the
humblest man he had ever known. Moody often quoted another
noted speaker of his time who said, “A man can counterfeit
love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope and
all other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit
humility. You can detect mock humility.”
Today, national pride without facing
our sins may be one of our most serious problems. Long ago,
wise Solomon received the following instructions for his
nation to survive during troubled times: “If My people, who
are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and
seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their
land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
If you’re feeling down about your
present problems, consider humbly seeking God’s help.
Remember: for both individuals and nations, humility is the
highway to the top. |
