Pride Vs. Humility Series

When we lived in Oregon you became aware of a few things you don’t really think about growing up in Pennsylvania. One of those things is recycling. We threw out everything as a boy growing up in Wilkes-Barre, PA: Paper, plastic, glass. It didn’t matter or cross our minds about the ecological effect we might be having on the environment. As a matter of fact, once, when I was in the Navy, I gave myself an oil change over a storm drain so I didn’t have to worry about the hassle of finding a place to discard old motor oil.

Another thing that’s not really on the radar back home is healthy choices. I grew up eating salty foods, Middlesworth potato chips, chicken wings, Raman noodles, hotdogs, kielbasa, breads, rolls, lunchmeat, etc… The northeastern section of the US is one of the least healthy sections of America. It seems to be about food, family, and faith and let the health cards lie where they will.

Things aren’t like that in the Pacific Northwest. People are more active and concerned about nutrition and what goes into the body. There are plenty of all-natural grocery stores in every area of the city of Portland, OR, where we lived.

When we moved to our first apartment they gave us recycling bins and a letter telling us what was acceptable for recycling. I was hooked. With four small children I wanted to do whatever I could to help preserve this terra firma, or earth, we spend our lives on. After all, it didn’t cost me any money, only a little bit of time sorting trash.

We got to the point that we recycled cereal boxes, plastic grocery bags, milk jugs, and other plastic containers. Even as far down as the core for the toilet paper was put in a bin to be recycled. To this day I’m glad we actively participated in this.

We even got into the health aspect of living in the Pacific Northwest. It has long ago been determined that we spend a lot of time and effort in America fighting symptoms rather than getting to the core of what ails us. We take a pill for blood pressure, for hot flashes, and for headaches. We try to find an easy cure for baldness, for being overweight, or for getting wrinkles. We would prefer to get an antibiotic first thing rather than work to stimulate our own immunity that God has given to us.

In Oregon I did a lot of studying in the homeopathic and naturopathic health care areas. Our kids suffered with asthma when younger and early on depended upon nebulizers and inhalers. Eventually we stopped most attacks with freeze dried nettles and plastic coverings over sheets and pillows to kill dust mites.

Flu season rarely affected us due to the use of Echinacea during the winter seasons. Now when I get a severe cold I treat it with a little cough and cold medicine but a healthy dose of Echinacea, zinc coated natural cough drops, and a lot of vitamin C.

I say this to remind us that good health is not gotten by taking a medicine to mask the symptoms. Instead, real health is maintained by having the proper perspective and practicing the right choices so that you can avoid getting sick in the first place.

This is what Paul is trying to teach the church at Corinth. The church there was sick. They suffered with the disease of disunity. If Paul wanted to mask the symptom, he would have just told the church that they need to get along with one another and not worry if others don’t agree with them.

Instead, Paul went to the root of the problem and told them their allegiance was to men, or to their own wisdom, and not to the Lord, Jesus Christ. This was to be a pre-emanate attribute if they were to be a strong and unified church.

Instead of being humble in the fact that God, in His mercy, had chosen to offer them eternal life, they were proud of the fact that they were wise in their own eyes and had proven this by choosing allegiance to church leaders who also appeared to be the best leaders. There is no place in the church or in the Christians life for pride. There wasn’t then and there isn’t now.

PRAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been written that, “God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.” I guess this means we are not to be proud or depressed. (powerpoint)

Pride is one of those things that gets us into a lot of trouble. During the Battle of the Wilderness in the Civil War, Union general John Sedgwick was inspecting his troops. At one point he came to a parapet, over which he gazed out in the direction of the enemy. His officers suggested that this was unwise and perhaps he ought to duck while passing the parapet. "Nonsense," snapped the general. "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." A moment later Sedgwick fell to the ground, fatally wounded.