God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble"
James 4:6 ESV
it comes to diagnosing our hearts, those of us who have the disease of pride have a challenging time identifying our sickness. Pride infects our eyesight, causing us to view ourselves through a lens that colors and distorts reality. Pride will paint even our ugliness in sin as beautiful and commendable.
We can’t conclude that we don’t struggle with pride because we don’t see pride in our hearts. The comfortable moments when I pat myself on the back for how well I am doing are the moments that should alarm me the most. The moments when I am holding a pity party are equally as dangerous.
What we need is a field guide for pride. So, let us survey pride’s various forms to provides a clear line of sight so that we can place pride in our crosshairs and shoot to kill.
can appear in forms that look like polar opposites summed up in 2 categories.
The Pride of Building up
The Pride of Tearing down
Here are six interrelated forms:
Building Up:
Self-Exaltation,
Self-Promotion,
and Self-Justification
Tearing Down:
Self-Degradation,
Self-Demotion,
and Self-Condemnation
Last week we looked at the most common views of pride which are tied with building up self. But today I want to discuss the subtle forms of pride which involve tearing down.
The common denominator for all six species of pride is self-preoccupation. Pride wants to be the center of attention: for good or for bad.
The surprising yet equally dangerous forms of Pride.
Self-Degradation
Self-Demotion
and Self-Condemnation
pride can shift into the shape of self-degradation and self-demotion when we beat ourselves up for our failures. We are still obsessed with ourselves. In the first form, we are obsessed with our successes; in the second, we are obsessed with our failures.
for our failures. We are still obsessed with ourselves. In the first form, we are obsessed with our successes; in the second, we are obsessed with our failures
Self-degradation, self-demotion, and self-condemnation all come when the shoe is on the other less fortunate foot. They are the opposite of the forms of Pride where we build up the self. They emerge as we stew over our losses and others’ successes. Rather than raising a toast to successes, these three forms of pride throw a lavish pity party.
1.Self-Degradation
First, where self-exaltation elevates and builds up the self, self-degradation is a form of demolition which tears down the self.
2.Self-Demotion
Second, self-demotion throws a public and pathetic party to highlight the fact that we have performed worse than others, we have it worse than others, or we have less than others. Self-demotion plans the funeral for our ego. Why would we want others to see these things? Ironically, self-demotion can be a sneaky form of self-promotion because we’re actually fishing for the affirmation and reassurance we believe we deserve.
3.Self-Condemnation
Third, self-condemnation passes judgment on us when we fall short of our own standards. Sometimes we carry out the painful judgment on ourselves. We can mentally replay poor performances in order to beat ourselves up repeatedly over our failures. Self-condemnation does not feel vindicated in the sight of others, but feels shame for falling short.
Pride is wholly consumed with self. Pride may shout out to every person it sees, “Look at me! I am amazing!” It also might shout, “Look at me, I am horrible. I am ugly, I am no good. I am dumber than anybody I know!” Pride is so inwardly focused that even when it hates self with utmost vehemence, it cannot remove its burning eyes from self! It continues to utterly abhor self, even to the point of suicide. This is not humility. This is pride; pride in its most pitiable, sorry form.
Pride seeks everyone else’s sympathy and pity, and is angry when it does not get it. If someone does need encouragement in their trial, Pride would only defend its position as having the worst trial there is, leaving the other crushed and without hope. It relies wholly on other people to pity it, and perhaps build it up for a while to keep it from total self-destruction. This form of pride is subtle, and builds slowly. It leaves you helpless and entirely unhelpful to the rest of humanity. It may be the most subtle, most deadly form of pride.
So how do we fight pride? Don’t be suckered into thinking that to battle the first kind of pride you must use the second.
The common denominator for all six species of pride is self-preoccupation. Pride wants to be the center of attention: for good or for bad. Pride’s fixation with self can only be countered with humility’s forgetfulness of self. Humility is the photo-negative of pride.
To be continued...
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
A Field Guide to Pride Part 1
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble"
James 4:6 ESV
Pride is a cosmic crime. As finite creatures, we cannot fully grasp God’s infinite revulsion against pride’s rebellion. God hates pride.
When James says “God opposes the proud”, the verb here is the Greek antitassetai, which literally means 'to arrange against'. It is a military term which could be translated `to set in array as in a battle', and the picture it conjures up is vivid and terrifying. Whereas the humble, godly man has the hosts of God encamped around him, the arrogant, godless man has the God of hosts arrayed against him! James is saying nothing less than that.
But is his language too strong? Is he overstating the case? Not in the least. From God's perspective, pride seems to be the most serious sin. There is 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.
His Word reveals that there are seven things "that the Lord hates and that are an abomination to Him” It is the proud man’s haughty eyes that head up the list (Proverbs 6:16-17). Another time God speaks out, "I hate pride and arrogance" (Proverbs 8:13). And consider the divine perspective on pride revealed in Proverbs l6:5, "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished." Stronger language for sin simply cannot be found in Scripture
What makes pride so singularly repulsive to God is the way that pride “contends for supremacy” with God himself. Pride sets itself in opposition to God. The only fitting response is for God to oppose the proud ( James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). That is probably why pride is not simply another sin among many, but a sin in a category of its own. Other sins lead the sinner further away from God, but pride is particularly heinous in that it attempts to elevate the sinner above God. The heinousness of pride means that it really does deserve to die.
As seriously dangerous as pride is, it’s equally hard to spot, much less kill. Jonathan Jonathan Edwards said pride is “the most hidden, secret, and deceitful of all sins.
So, when it comes to diagnosing our hearts, those of us who have the disease of pride have a challenging time identifying our sickness. Pride infects our eyesight, causing us to view ourselves through a lens that colors and distorts reality. Pride will paint even our ugliness in sin as beautiful and commendable.
We can’t conclude that we don’t struggle with pride because we don’t see pride in our hearts. The comfortable moments when I pat myself on the back for how well I am doing are the moments that should alarm me the most. The moments when I am holding a pity party are equally as dangerous.
What we need is a field guide for pride. So, let us survey pride’s various forms to provides a clear line of sight so that we can place pride in our crosshairs and shoot to kill.
On a general level we could sum up what pride looks like in three ways:
1.The self-preoccupied person. This is the person who thinks continually about himself. He might be a self-effacing person, and so look in a way humble. But inside his cocoon all he is consumed with is thoughts about himself. He may not even like himself.But he is still the center of his attention. His self-hate has no power to produce humility, it just makes his pride pathetic and miserable.That is a subtle and deadly form of pride.
2. The self-infatuated person. This person really does feel quite good about himself. He is not only occupied with himself, but likes being the center of his own attention and thinks others would probably like it as well. He may or may not be outgoing,but he finds himself entertaining or intelligent or handsome or shrewd and enjoys preening himself, even if nobody is impressed.
3. The self-exalting person. This person goes beyond self-preoccupation and self-infatuation to active efforts to display his qualities. He does care if others see and admire. He wants praise.
But I'd like to go even deeper in identifying pride because fighting pride is like fighting a shape-shifter. It can appear in forms that look like polar opposites summed up in 2 categories.
The Pride of Building up
The Pride of Tearing down
Here are six interrelated forms:
Building Up:
Self-Exaltation,
Self-Promotion,
and Self-Justification
Tearing Down:
Self-Degradation,
Self-Demotion,
and Self-Condemnation
The first three responses usually show up when we succeed and others fail. The latter three are more common when others succeed and we fail.
First, pride puts on the smug face of self-exaltation when success comes its way. Self-exaltation takes credit for the good things in our lives. Second, self-promotion is an extension of self-exaltation because it puts those good things forward so that others will give us credit for them. Third, self-justification is more specific in that it focuses on taking credit for morally good works as a way of being right before God or in the sight of others. Taking credit for being in the right makes it more likely that we will blame others for being in the wrong. The Pharisees displayed all of these species of pride. For instance, they paraded their self-righteousness before people to get praise from others (Matt. 6:1–2). Jesus said everyone who exalts himself (like a Pharisee) will be humbled (Matt. 23:12). These three forms of pride all propose a toast to self, celebrating and showing off our successes. And they often raise their glasses with an acute awareness of the failures of others. The Pharisees not only “trusted in themselves that they were righteous,” but they also “treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9)
...Yo be continued. Next week we will look at 3 surprising forms of pride.
James 4:6 ESV
Pride is a cosmic crime. As finite creatures, we cannot fully grasp God’s infinite revulsion against pride’s rebellion. God hates pride.
When James says “God opposes the proud”, the verb here is the Greek antitassetai, which literally means 'to arrange against'. It is a military term which could be translated `to set in array as in a battle', and the picture it conjures up is vivid and terrifying. Whereas the humble, godly man has the hosts of God encamped around him, the arrogant, godless man has the God of hosts arrayed against him! James is saying nothing less than that.
But is his language too strong? Is he overstating the case? Not in the least. From God's perspective, pride seems to be the most serious sin. There is 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.
His Word reveals that there are seven things "that the Lord hates and that are an abomination to Him” It is the proud man’s haughty eyes that head up the list (Proverbs 6:16-17). Another time God speaks out, "I hate pride and arrogance" (Proverbs 8:13). And consider the divine perspective on pride revealed in Proverbs l6:5, "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished." Stronger language for sin simply cannot be found in Scripture
What makes pride so singularly repulsive to God is the way that pride “contends for supremacy” with God himself. Pride sets itself in opposition to God. The only fitting response is for God to oppose the proud ( James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). That is probably why pride is not simply another sin among many, but a sin in a category of its own. Other sins lead the sinner further away from God, but pride is particularly heinous in that it attempts to elevate the sinner above God. The heinousness of pride means that it really does deserve to die.
As seriously dangerous as pride is, it’s equally hard to spot, much less kill. Jonathan Jonathan Edwards said pride is “the most hidden, secret, and deceitful of all sins.
So, when it comes to diagnosing our hearts, those of us who have the disease of pride have a challenging time identifying our sickness. Pride infects our eyesight, causing us to view ourselves through a lens that colors and distorts reality. Pride will paint even our ugliness in sin as beautiful and commendable.
We can’t conclude that we don’t struggle with pride because we don’t see pride in our hearts. The comfortable moments when I pat myself on the back for how well I am doing are the moments that should alarm me the most. The moments when I am holding a pity party are equally as dangerous.
What we need is a field guide for pride. So, let us survey pride’s various forms to provides a clear line of sight so that we can place pride in our crosshairs and shoot to kill.
On a general level we could sum up what pride looks like in three ways:
1.The self-preoccupied person. This is the person who thinks continually about himself. He might be a self-effacing person, and so look in a way humble. But inside his cocoon all he is consumed with is thoughts about himself. He may not even like himself.But he is still the center of his attention. His self-hate has no power to produce humility, it just makes his pride pathetic and miserable.That is a subtle and deadly form of pride.
2. The self-infatuated person. This person really does feel quite good about himself. He is not only occupied with himself, but likes being the center of his own attention and thinks others would probably like it as well. He may or may not be outgoing,but he finds himself entertaining or intelligent or handsome or shrewd and enjoys preening himself, even if nobody is impressed.
3. The self-exalting person. This person goes beyond self-preoccupation and self-infatuation to active efforts to display his qualities. He does care if others see and admire. He wants praise.
But I'd like to go even deeper in identifying pride because fighting pride is like fighting a shape-shifter. It can appear in forms that look like polar opposites summed up in 2 categories.
The Pride of Building up
The Pride of Tearing down
Here are six interrelated forms:
Building Up:
Self-Exaltation,
Self-Promotion,
and Self-Justification
Tearing Down:
Self-Degradation,
Self-Demotion,
and Self-Condemnation
The first three responses usually show up when we succeed and others fail. The latter three are more common when others succeed and we fail.
First, pride puts on the smug face of self-exaltation when success comes its way. Self-exaltation takes credit for the good things in our lives. Second, self-promotion is an extension of self-exaltation because it puts those good things forward so that others will give us credit for them. Third, self-justification is more specific in that it focuses on taking credit for morally good works as a way of being right before God or in the sight of others. Taking credit for being in the right makes it more likely that we will blame others for being in the wrong. The Pharisees displayed all of these species of pride. For instance, they paraded their self-righteousness before people to get praise from others (Matt. 6:1–2). Jesus said everyone who exalts himself (like a Pharisee) will be humbled (Matt. 23:12). These three forms of pride all propose a toast to self, celebrating and showing off our successes. And they often raise their glasses with an acute awareness of the failures of others. The Pharisees not only “trusted in themselves that they were righteous,” but they also “treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9)
...Yo be continued. Next week we will look at 3 surprising forms of pride.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
HOW LONG,OH LORD?
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
The apostle Peter tells us that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9).
I must confess I am a frequent member of the "some" group. In my humble opinion, God moves as slow as molasses at times in my life. As a matter fact, at times he seems to move even beyond slow, he has stopped dead in his tracks! Sometimes, I wish he would pick up the pace and I advise Him about this on a regular basis.
At some point, each of us joins the “some” group. We reach places where it’s painfully clear that our sense of time and feelings of urgency must be very different than God’s. And it is. We prefer to measure time in minutes, rather than months.
But Peter tells us that God has a very different way that he measures time. He measures time by millennia,
"But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. " (2 Peter 3:8).
Our loving and caring God compassionately understands and knows that he sometimes appears slow to us, which is one merciful reason he has given us the Bible. This book, which God took a thousand years to assemble, shows us that God is not slow, but patient in working out his redemptive purposes in the best ways (2 Peter 3:9). And it shows that he is compassionate toward us when we wait for him for what seems like a long time.
Abraham and Sarah were not only the parents of all of God’s faith-children (Romans 4:16); their lives are perhaps the most famous picture of God’s redemptive purposes in what seems like his painfully slow pace.
Abram (as he was first called) was already 75 years old when God promised to make him a great nation that would bless all the families of the earth and to give his offspring the promised land of the Canaanites (Genesis 12:1–3).
However, there was a problem: Abram had no offspring. His wife, Sarai (as she was first called), was barren (Genesis 11:30).
Years passed. Still no child. So Abram prudently planned to make his servant Eliezer to be his heir. But God said, “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). Then he took Abram out and showed him the night sky and told him that his offspring would be so numerous it would be like counting stars.
But years later, it was still just Abram and Sarai in the tent.
Sarai became desperate and gave up on waiting. She decided that her maidservant, Hagar, could be a surrogate child-bearer for her. This sounded humanly reasonable to 86-year-old Abram, but he did not consult God and the solution backfired, big time.
Thirteen more years went by before God finally told the 99-year-old Abram that 89-year-old Sarai would bear a son, and he changed their names to Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarah (princess). A year later Isaac is born.
It was 25 years of waiting, while any earthly reason to hope for a child went from highly unlikely to impossible. Their only hope was God’s promise, which was precisely God’s purpose in the long, confusing wait.
Paul describes this in Romans,
"No unbelief made [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." (Romans 4:20–21)
God determined that all of his true children would be born again through faith to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3) and then live by faith (the faith of Abraham, Galatians 3:7) in his promises alone (Romans 1:17). So God took patient pains to cultivate faith in Abraham and Sarah, and he does the same for us.
One of the most profoundly comforting things about Scripture is how it reveals God’s compassion for us impatient waiters. He knows that he can appear slow to us. He knows that at times we are going to feel like he’s forgotten us and is hiding his face from us. He knows that as he patiently works out his purposes, we will experience circumstances so difficult and confusing that we cry out in bewildered pain.
And so he not only gives us stories like Abraham and Sarah to help us see that we are not alone; he also gives us songs like Psalm 13 to sing.
"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)
One of the many reasons I love the Psalms and spend so much time in them is because they are so full of raw poetry, more raw and blunt than many of us are, even when confiding our pain to a trusted friend.
Think about this, Psalm 13 was a congregational song! The people of Israel would sing them and cry out in lament together.
"HOW LONG?"
Could you even imagine today in our typical churches with light, happy, upbeat, positive sing-alongs if suddenly the entire church lamented together and cried out "how long oh Lord?"? But that's exactly what the Jewish community did over and over again as they would sing out and pray the Psalms of lament
And from this, we are to hear from God that he knows our waiting for him can be hard. He knows it can feel to us like he is is taking too long. He gives us permission to ask him, “How long is this going to last?” He reminds us that when we feel like he’s forgotten us, it is an experience common to all his children, common enough to warrant congregational singing about it.
And as we pray or sing such psalms, they remind us that God, in fact, has not forgotten us, that what we feel isn’t always real, and that God’s promises are truer than our feelings.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Waiting is learning to adapt to God’s chosen pace, as well as submitting to his chosen place for us. Because, that bewildering, confusing, painful place where we feel like we’re stuck is redemptive even more re than we know. There is more at stake than we can see and more going on than meets our eyes.
But here are two gracious promises God gives to us when we are waiting long:
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29–31)
Like Abraham and Sarah, God is working for you as you wait for him, and he will bring renewal to your weary heart.
So “be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD” (Psalm 31:24). He is able to do what he has promised.
Watching and waiting,
Pastor Bill
The apostle Peter tells us that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9).
I must confess I am a frequent member of the "some" group. In my humble opinion, God moves as slow as molasses at times in my life. As a matter fact, at times he seems to move even beyond slow, he has stopped dead in his tracks! Sometimes, I wish he would pick up the pace and I advise Him about this on a regular basis.
At some point, each of us joins the “some” group. We reach places where it’s painfully clear that our sense of time and feelings of urgency must be very different than God’s. And it is. We prefer to measure time in minutes, rather than months.
But Peter tells us that God has a very different way that he measures time. He measures time by millennia,
"But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. " (2 Peter 3:8).
Our loving and caring God compassionately understands and knows that he sometimes appears slow to us, which is one merciful reason he has given us the Bible. This book, which God took a thousand years to assemble, shows us that God is not slow, but patient in working out his redemptive purposes in the best ways (2 Peter 3:9). And it shows that he is compassionate toward us when we wait for him for what seems like a long time.
Abraham and Sarah were not only the parents of all of God’s faith-children (Romans 4:16); their lives are perhaps the most famous picture of God’s redemptive purposes in what seems like his painfully slow pace.
Abram (as he was first called) was already 75 years old when God promised to make him a great nation that would bless all the families of the earth and to give his offspring the promised land of the Canaanites (Genesis 12:1–3).
However, there was a problem: Abram had no offspring. His wife, Sarai (as she was first called), was barren (Genesis 11:30).
Years passed. Still no child. So Abram prudently planned to make his servant Eliezer to be his heir. But God said, “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). Then he took Abram out and showed him the night sky and told him that his offspring would be so numerous it would be like counting stars.
But years later, it was still just Abram and Sarai in the tent.
Sarai became desperate and gave up on waiting. She decided that her maidservant, Hagar, could be a surrogate child-bearer for her. This sounded humanly reasonable to 86-year-old Abram, but he did not consult God and the solution backfired, big time.
Thirteen more years went by before God finally told the 99-year-old Abram that 89-year-old Sarai would bear a son, and he changed their names to Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarah (princess). A year later Isaac is born.
It was 25 years of waiting, while any earthly reason to hope for a child went from highly unlikely to impossible. Their only hope was God’s promise, which was precisely God’s purpose in the long, confusing wait.
Paul describes this in Romans,
"No unbelief made [Abraham] waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." (Romans 4:20–21)
God determined that all of his true children would be born again through faith to a living hope (1 Peter 1:3) and then live by faith (the faith of Abraham, Galatians 3:7) in his promises alone (Romans 1:17). So God took patient pains to cultivate faith in Abraham and Sarah, and he does the same for us.
One of the most profoundly comforting things about Scripture is how it reveals God’s compassion for us impatient waiters. He knows that he can appear slow to us. He knows that at times we are going to feel like he’s forgotten us and is hiding his face from us. He knows that as he patiently works out his purposes, we will experience circumstances so difficult and confusing that we cry out in bewildered pain.
And so he not only gives us stories like Abraham and Sarah to help us see that we are not alone; he also gives us songs like Psalm 13 to sing.
"How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)
One of the many reasons I love the Psalms and spend so much time in them is because they are so full of raw poetry, more raw and blunt than many of us are, even when confiding our pain to a trusted friend.
Think about this, Psalm 13 was a congregational song! The people of Israel would sing them and cry out in lament together.
"HOW LONG?"
Could you even imagine today in our typical churches with light, happy, upbeat, positive sing-alongs if suddenly the entire church lamented together and cried out "how long oh Lord?"? But that's exactly what the Jewish community did over and over again as they would sing out and pray the Psalms of lament
And from this, we are to hear from God that he knows our waiting for him can be hard. He knows it can feel to us like he is is taking too long. He gives us permission to ask him, “How long is this going to last?” He reminds us that when we feel like he’s forgotten us, it is an experience common to all his children, common enough to warrant congregational singing about it.
And as we pray or sing such psalms, they remind us that God, in fact, has not forgotten us, that what we feel isn’t always real, and that God’s promises are truer than our feelings.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Waiting is learning to adapt to God’s chosen pace, as well as submitting to his chosen place for us. Because, that bewildering, confusing, painful place where we feel like we’re stuck is redemptive even more re than we know. There is more at stake than we can see and more going on than meets our eyes.
But here are two gracious promises God gives to us when we are waiting long:
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. (Isaiah 64:4)
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29–31)
Like Abraham and Sarah, God is working for you as you wait for him, and he will bring renewal to your weary heart.
So “be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD” (Psalm 31:24). He is able to do what he has promised.
Watching and waiting,
Pastor Bill
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)