Humble Pride
Luke 18:9-14 (New International Version)
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10¡§Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ¡¥God, I thank you that I am not like other men¡Xrobbers, evildoers, adulterers¡Xor even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.¡¦
13¡§But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ¡¥God, have mercy on me, a sinner.¡¦
14¡§I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.¡¨
INTRODUCTION: The cancer of pride.
Vince Lombardi was the coach of the Green Bay Packers during their glory years in the 1960s. Lombardi was known for his monstrous ego, unwavering self-confidence and gargantuan pride. Stories about Lombardi abound - some fact, some fiction. One story tells of the occasion when Lombardi was at a championship playoff game. His wife was not able to attend the game. The odds were against the Packers winning the game, but they won the game anyhow. Coach Lombardi was thrilled with his team’s winning effort. When he got home, his wife was already in bed fast asleep. But when his ice-cold feet touched her legs, she said, "God, your feet are cold." Quick as a flash, Lombardi replied, "When we’re in bed, just call me Vince."
Pride has been elevated to the level of a virtue in the world of American sports and entertainment. We chuckle about stories of proud people, like Lombardi’s cold feet. But we’re nauseated when we come face to face with an arrogant person who looks down his nose at us like we’re a lower form of life.
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) calls pride a spiritual cancer that eats up the very possibility of love and contentment, and even common sense (Mere Christianity). Pride is 1 of the 7 deadly sins. Pride is a spiritual cancer that damages our souls, harms everyone in its path and breaks God’s heart.
Jesus condemns the sin of pride in the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector in Luke 18 because he knows what an inaccurate picture such arrogant pride can bring.
Yet at times we have made the mistake of going to far to the other extreme, as if being humble is equated with being humiliated.
True greatness in God’s eyes comes not in exalting ourselves over others. True greatness comes in humbling ourselves as servants of others. Christ exemplified humility in humbling Himself in becoming a man and dying on the cross. Stay proud. As it says through out the Bible, pride goeth before the fall.
Did you know that the word humility comes from the word humus which means soil or dirt? God created us out of the dust of the earth. One day we all return to the dirt once again. We are what we are by the grace of God.
Yet humility is more than just a recognition of a dirt beginning, real humility is a recognition of divine action through our lives. The danger of pride is that we defy ourselves, equating our value with God’s. Humility recognizes that what I am and what I can ultimately be is by the grace of God.
Instead of humiliation or arrogant pride lets look for a better way, one of humble pride that leads to eternal confidence that by God’s grace and God’s will, God has an awesome purpose to fulfill in our lives. Today let’s look at 4 markers of humble pride that leads to eternal confidence in living life each day.
Humble Pride Leads to Eternal Confidence
MARKER 1. Be honest in my NEED for God. Someone in our day who has a prideful self-centeredness we say has the disease of Narcissism. The name comes from Greek mythology and refers to a handsome young man name Narcissus who fell in love with himself. Whenever he would come along a pool of clear water, he would look at his reflection for hours admiring the view.
One day he said to himself, "You are handsome, Narcissus! There’s nobody so handsome in the whole world!" He stooped down to kiss his reflection, fell into the water, and drowned.
To people who have fallen into that Narcissistic view of their lives, Luke tells us in, Luke 18:9, Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else. -- (Contemporary English Version)
In this parable, Jesus calls us to humility. The best definition I’ve ever heard of humility is: "Humility is not denying the power you have but admitting that the power comes through and not from you." If you deny the power you’ve been given, you lie. It you have a fine singing voice, then use it and give glory to God. If you make the best chocolate chip cookies, then make some and bring them tot he church office marked attention Pastor Burkey.
The challenge of the parable is not to put ourselves down, but to lift our need for God up. Humble pride calls for an honest appraisal of my need for God because God knows our hearts. Earlier in Luke in,Luke 16:15, So Jesus said to them (the Pharisees), "You try to justify your actions in front of people. But God knows what¡¦s in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God." -- (GOD’S WORD)
Folks, God knows us better than we know ourselves. That’s the scary news. We can fool the rest of the world perhaps, but not God. He knows the real you and me, even the darkest of our dark sides. Now here’s the good news, God loves us no matter what we have done nor matter what we do because of what Jesus has done for us. That’s why the call is to be honest like the tax collector in our need for God.
MARKER 2. FOCUS on God’s mercy, not my achievements. George Washington loved to tell the story of over-zealous candidate campaigning for office. "Fellow citizens," said the candidate, "I have fought against the enemy. I have often had no bed but the battlefield, and no canopy but the sky. I have marched over frozen ground ’til every step has been marked by blood."
This candidate told his story well, until one voter came to the front and asked, "Did you say you’d fought in the war?"
"Yes!" replied the candidate.
"And that you slept on the ground with the sky for your cover."
"Yes, many a time."
"And that your feet bled in marching over the frozen ground?"
"That they did," declared the candidate.
"Well, then I think you have done enough for your country, and you ought to go home and rest. I’ll vote for the other fellow."
The Pharisee in the parable likes to focus on all his "I do this ¡K I do that" achievements, but Jesus says they are worth nothing. The tax collector has a better focus. Listen again to what he does in,
„h Luke 18:13, The tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even look up to heaven. But he beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." -- (New Century Version)
Folks, there is a danger when we get caught up in our achievements or in our titles. Recently because I am the only pastor on staff here, our denomination removed the title of Senior Pastor and now lists me as sole pastor, S O L E. I would have liked it better if it had been S O U L, but I don¡¦t’ have rhythm.
When I got the e-mail informing me of this and asking of the specific date I was the only pastor on staff, it ticked me off. I waited before replying so I could cool down, I was so mad, so hurt, and so full of pride. I complained at the Department Head meeting, to our circuit counselor, at the elders meeting, to the staff and retreat, and finally I asked God what was going on here, and He spelled it out for me, "E G O." I had an ego problem, instead of focusing on God’s mercy and grace, I was caught up with the title I held. I hate that in others, I hate it that it took me 4 weeks to figure it out for myself, then I read again some of my favorite verses in the Bible and it hit me. Paul says in,Ephesians 2:8-10, 8You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are. -- (Contemporary English Version)
The incredible purpose God has for our lives comes by His mercy and grace. The utlimate goal is not our achievements but our relationship with God. God empowers us to fulfill this awesome purpose not to earn His love, but to enjoy the love He already has for us. Humble pride doesn’t focus on titles nor achievement, but the awesome and incredible grace of God.
MARKER 3. Instead of comparing with others, SEE others through God’s eyes. Listen again to the Pharisees prayer in,Luke 18:11, The Pharisee stood up and prayed, ¡¥God, I thank you that I¡¦m not like other people! I¡¦m not a robber or a dishonest person. I haven¡¦t committed adultery. I¡¦m not even like this tax collector. -- (GOD’S WORD)
C. S. Lewis noted, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you’re looking down, you can’t see something that’s above you."
Sounds like a good description of the disease Jesus is dealing with in this story. The danger is when my eye is on me, I miss the God above me.
Or as one person put it, "If you are all wrapped up in yourself, your over-dressed."
Life is not about how I compare with others, but how am I doing in my relationship with God? James has a great solution to help us have humble pride, to see God and to see others through God’s eyes. James says in, James 4:10, Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. -- (The Message)
When Ronald Regan was President of the United States, he had a sign on his desk that said, "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit."
Life is not about how I compare with others. God calls us not to compete, but to complete. He calls us to see others as people He sent His Son, Jesus, to live and die for. When you look at others through God’s eyes, you see people to love.
CONCLUSION: Take a risk with a dangerous prayer.
Today I challenge you to take a risk with a dangerous prayer. The prayer is: "Lord, keep me humble."
The risk is God does work to keep our egos in check, at least he does with mine. When we were vacationing in San Diego, we went to the Reuben H. Fleet Center to see the IMAX movie, Michael Jordan to the Max. While we were waiting for the movie, we looked around at the exhibits. One of them on the second floor takes your picture, and then you can adjust it digitally. So I was doing the Michael Jordan tongue thing with my hand outstretched, and then adjusting the picture. What I didn¡¦t’ know was I wasn’t the only one looking at my picture, so were a group of other people at another spot that showed all the picture booths pictures. Earlier that day I had prayed, "Lord, keep me humble."
Let me share a great prayer I came across this week that real pulls together humble pride. It is by Blaise Pascal, "Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with your power, and little things as though they were great, since I do them in your name. Amen."
