The Problems of Being Presumtuous
Illustration:It is he who is in the wrong who first gets angry.
William Penn.
Presumption is an act of overstepping one’s proper bounds, it involves excessive effrontery or forwardness. To presume means that one takes upon oneself, without permission or authority. some venture.
Many people commit the sin of presumption when they take someone or something for granted. Solomon wrote, "Through presumption comes nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel comes wisdom." (Prov. 13:10) Simon the magician was a man who personified a presumptive man. He thought he could use trickery and the Holy Spirit to make money for himself. Simon even became known as "that power of God which is called Great." (Acts 8:10)
He tried to obtain the spiritual functions of Peter and John with a bribe. Paul countered this thinking when he wrote, " I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me." (Rom. 15:18) Ask the Lord to help you teach your followers how to avoid presuming too many things that are out of the realm of your control, responsibility or calling.
2. Eventually, Peter had to rebuke presumptive Simon when the magician said, "Give me this authority to bestow the Holy Spirit and lay hands on people so that everyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit." (Acts 8:19) Peter replied, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God." (Acts 8:20,21) Presumptive sins are often exhibited by those who oppose God (Job 15:25,26); those who are willfully disobedient to God (Rom. 1:32); self-righteous (Hos. 12:8); the spiritual proud (Luke 18:11); pretend to have the gift of prophecy (Deut. 18:22); esteem their own way as right (Prov. 12:15); seek precedence (Luke 14:7-11); presume to have everything prepared for their future (James 4:13,14) "Come now, you who say,
Today or tomorrow we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that." Trust the Lord to guide, provide and empower you on a moment to moment basis.
3. Learn the many errors to avoid from other Biblical examples of presumptive people:
1a). Builders of the tower of Babel "Come let us build for ourselves a city and a tower who top will reach into heaven and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Gen 11:4)
2a). The Israelities when they confronted their enemies without the presence, power and blessing of the Lord (Numb 14:43-45)
3a). Korah (Numb 16:3,7) The sons of Korah arose up against Moses. Then Moses spoke to them saying, "Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His man and whom He will choose· You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!"
4a). Uzzah (2 Sam 6:6,7) When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah and God struck him down there for his irreverence."
5a). Jeroboam (I King 13:4) "When King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, he stretched out his hand from the altar saying, Seize him." But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself."
6a). Behnadad (I Kings 20:19) Benhadad was drinking himself drunk. Then the young men of the rulers said, "Men have come out of Samaria against you." Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive." However the Israelities killed many of Benhadadâs men and they fled from the armies of Israel, Benhadad barely escaped a great slaughter."
7a). Sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13,14) "But some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?" And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." (Acts 19:11-16)
Ask the Lord to help you to learn how to avoid any trace of presumptive sins.
Conclusion:Doctors from Coral Gables, Fla., compared the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action in 18 men with coronary artery disease to nine healthy controls. Each of the study participants underwent one physical stress test (riding an exercise bicycle) and three mental stress tests (doing math problems in their heads, recalling a recent incident that had made them very angry, and giving a short speech to defend themselves against a hypothetical charge of shoplifting). Using sophisticated X-ray techniques, the doctors took pictures of the subjects’ hearts in action during these tests.
For all the subjects, anger reduced the amount of blood that the heart pumped to body tissues more than the other tests, but this was especially true for those who had heart disease.
Why anger is so much more potent than fear or mental stress is anybody’s guess. But until we see more research on this subject, it couldn’t hurt to count to 10 before you blow your stack.
Spokesman-Review, July 29, 1993, p. D3.
