HoHum:
C.S. Lewis said that the worst evil is pride. “According to many Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”
WBTU:
3 times Jesus says in the gospels: “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12, NIV.
James and Peter both say, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”” James 4:6.
In these verses, Paul singles out pride and subjects it to a harsh interrogation. In vs. 7 he gives us 3 questions that should convict us of our pride. Like a criminal, our pride needs to be convicted, but also like a criminal (especially one with a good lawyer), it can be rather slippery and difficult to bring to justice. The difficulty with pride can be illustrated by a story from the life of the preacher Harry Ironside. When Harry was a young man, he realized that he had a problem with pride. So he went to the elders of his church and asked them what he should do about it. They suggested that he make a big sign saying, “Repent or Perish,” and walk up and down the busiest street in Chicago all day long, holding the sign. So Harry did what they suggested, and after enduring a whole day or mockery from the crowds, he thought to himself, “Hmmm, I’m a cut above many. Not everybody would have done that!”
If we do not win the fight with pride, we will likely become the kind of person who goes beyond what is written, because we will think too highly of our own opinions, and place them on equal footing with the Scriptures.
Thesis: Let’s look at these 3 questions of Paul in battling pride
For Instances:
For who makes you different from anyone else?
ESV says this: For who sees anything different in you?
Can be something like: Who in the world sees anything special in you? Who do you think you are? In modern slang Paul might say this: You think you’re so great? NOT!”
By the way this is sarcasm. Who regards me as superior? Only myself. Ask others around us and we will find that they do not hold the same opinion. Ask spouse to list weaknesses and we will not longer has illusions about our superior character.
Bob Dylan sang these words in his song “Positively 4th Street.” "I wish that for just one time, you could stand inside my shoes, and just for that one moment I could be you. Yes, I wish that for just one time You could stand in my shoes; You’d know what a drag it is to see you."
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3, NIV.
What do you have that you did not receive?
Now, wait a minute. I do have gifts and talents that are better than some others? okay.
Paul knew that the Corinthians, and many others, might answer his first question with a list of qualities and deeds that separate them from others. Paul tackles this thought with this question. This question is an invitation to experience one of those rare, unguarded moments of total honesty, where in the presence of the eternal God one recognizes that every good and perfect gift comes from God- James 1:17
We did not produce this thing, we did not earn this thing, and we do not have the power in ourselves to keep this thing. Think about this:
Consider the good things we did not work for.
Natural intelligence
Good health
Things inherited from parents
Physical beauty
Many things here in the US
Consider the good things that we could never earn
Romantic Love
Family
Salvation
We are utterly dependent on God. We do not cause ourselves to be born or keep ourselves living, let alone exercise control over the outcome of our efforts. We are also corrupt, deserving nothing good from a holy God, but only judgment in hell.
But I’m a Christian, forgiven of my sin and on the way to heaven. Okay, but this does not make us superior to others. We have received God’s grace through Christ, but we do not earn it or deserve it. Without Christ there would be no salvation. “For the wages of sin (what we have earned) is death, but the gift of God (what we could never earn) is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23, NIV.
“On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” Acts 12:21-23, NIV. Herod did not even boast or praise himself here- he simply failed to thank God, and give Him the glory. He was ignoring the truth that anything good we have comes from God, and in a powerful example for all of us, he lost his life because of it.
““I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 42:8, NIV. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21, NIV. If we live in understanding that every good gift comes from God, we will be thankful people who will be much less likely to fall into the errors of judging and condemning others.
John Fischer 12 steps for a recovering Pharisee: There isn’t one pharisaical characteristic Jesus spoke out against that is not stripped of its power by a thankful heart. No need to judge other people when you are thankful for who you are. No need to measure yourself by and compare yourself to others when you are thankful for what God has done in your life. No need to stand at the door of the kingdom of God and keep others out when you’re just thankful that you got in. You are simply glad to be counted among the saved. You don’t care if you get the important seat at the table when you are overcome with gratitude at simply being invited to the dinner. You don’t put heavy weights on other people’s shoulders when you are thankful that God has lightened your own load. You are not obsessed with what other people think of you when you are overwhelmed with the fact that God is thinking about you all of the time. You don’t demand respect when you are thankful for your place. You don’t have to hide your own sin when you have received God’s forgiveness. you don’t have to maintain an outward show when God has cleaned up your heart. You don’t have to protect your image when you are already number one with God. You don’t have to condemn other people’s blindness when it’s only the grace of God that has allowed you to see. You don’t have to try for the highest place when you are already grateful for the lowest. you don’t have to make a show of spirituality when you are thankful for having received the Spirit. You don’t have to clothe yourself in holy robes when you already have been clothed in righteousness. You don’t have to be full of yourself when you are thankful that God has filled you up with himself.
And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
New Living Translation- And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?
When we boast and brag, we are saying that these things come from ourselves. Gill commentary- "To glory in any mercy, favor, or blessing received from God, as if it was not received from him, but as owing to human power, care, and industry, betrays wretched vanity, stupid and more than brutish ignorance, horrid ingratitude, abominable pride and wickedness; and is contrary to the grace of God, which teaches men humility and thankfulness. To God alone should all the blessings of nature, providence, and grace be ascribed; he ought to have all the glory of them; and to him, and him only, praise is due for them."
““If you have played the fool and exalted yourself... clap your hand over your mouth!” Proverbs 30:32, NIV.
Examples of this are giving our resume when it is not necessary. Lifting up our own gifts more than others. Humble people have a “holy hesitation” when they talk about themselves, and they will do so only when the intention is to edify, encourage, or evangelize others.
We do the worst damage when we put others down and build ourselves up. Making ourselves look superior. When we do this many are hesitant to trust us when they hear this. People don’t want to be around someone who does this because they might be next.
Conclusion and invitation:
Since everything good comes from God, anything that does not come from God is not good, particularly in our opinions of others. If the judgments we make about others are not from God- not based on His Word and guided by the HS- then they are bad judgments and will have bad results. If the standards we promote have not been received from God, but have been invented by us or some other human beings, those standards will not promote true godliness.
Even if we begin to believe that we are superior because of the blessings we have received from God, we need to keep in mind 1 Corinthians 4:2. Another principle is at work here, From those who have been given much, much is required. How much have we been given? We need to be faithful and use what we have in God's service, not use it to look down on others.
