A few thoughts from Humility True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney, a book on humility that I've read recently.
God. . .gives grace to the humble (James 4:6) Contary to popular and false belief, it's not "those who help themselves" whom God helps; it's those who humble themselves.
Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness.
Pride not only appears to be the earliest sin, but it is at the core of all sin. "Pride," Johnn Stott writes, "is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is the essence of all sin."
Indeed, from God's perspective, pride seems to be the most serious sin. From my study, I'm convinced there's nothing God hates more than this. God righteously hates all sin, of course, but biblical evidence abounds for the conclusion that there's no sin more offensive to Him than pride.
Why? Pride is when sinful human beings apsire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence on Him.
The author said that he learned that instead of confessing to God that "I was proud in that situation," he learned to say instead, "Lord, in that moment, with that attitude and that action, I was contending for supremacy with You. . .Please forgive me."
Some more thoughts later.
2 comments:
Excellent material on pride. Especially liked the thought of vying with God for supremacy.
Through the years my favorite definition of pride has been:
Humility is not thinking lowly of yourself--it is not thinking of yourself at all.
By the way, your mother wonders what happened to your usually flawless spelling?
Trying to type with the laptop on my lap on a sofa with a tv on and people talking while thinking about other things.
But I'll go back and edit.
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