Yesterday's post on proud Christians is not one of saying I am not proud and they are. How subtle pride can be! When we think we're not proud, that can be, and most normally, or readily is for us, nothing more than a proud thought. We are often blind to our own pride.
At the same time, Jesus not only epitomized humility, but he calls us as his followers to humilty. All indeed is a gift from God, and we all are in this together. God lets no one out of the mix, and loves to show his blessing through the most humble of his servants. When we think we have a leg up on others, we'd best beware. We're treading on dangerous ground.
As we look to Jesus, as recorded in the gospels, we find one who shows us the way a life of humility. It is one essentially of love. Love for God, love for others. A love which is by God's grace and in the Spirit. A love from which true humility flows. The love of God in Jesus by the Spirit.
What would you like to share on this?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
We have a saying: "Pride cometh before a fall". The dangers of pride seem to be universal, Christian or not.
Thanks, Nannykim.
Maalie,
Thanks.
Yes. It's easily fallen into by everyone everywhere, it seems.
But I believe it has it roots in the "garden of Eden", when humankind in "Adam" and "Eve" chose to pursue something higher for themselves, which God had expressely forbidden.
Now pride is inherent in us humans, we always like to think we're better than the next chap, which is part of the argument to say that we indeed, as humans, are all sinners before God. Violating love.
exellent post brother.
I am sorry I haven't been by in a while. Don't have internet at my home and the server at the university has been down.
God bless you brother for all you do. You and your blog have been a true blessing to me.
Ted - thanks. I do think the starting point of humility is a proper disposition before God without which humility among men is not very meaningful.
Good to hear from you again, Kinney. Thanks for your encouraging words.
ESI,
I agree. But when humility is spoken of in Scripture, and by Jesus, it's not always raising the issue of humility first in relation to God. But it certainly is grounded in that, as we find elsewhere in Scripture.
Thanks.
Ted, with respect, my point is that people of different faiths, and those with no faith, have some sort of tenet like "pride cometh before a fall". I honestly don't see the need to invoke Christianity and the mythological Garden of Eden to explain this. Mankind evolved in Africa about three million years ago, not in a garden with a talking snake :-)
Maalie,
Thanks.
You know from our discussions over on Susan's blog that I hold to Genesis 1-3 as something like mytho-historical. So that in symbollic terms we are told the story of humankind failing in their status as humans before God.
As to your point on humility, well taken. But my counterpoint to that would be that there is a sense in which it is all there for all humans, I mean what the Christian faith is addressing. Because humans are made in God's image, and face the same issue before God in our lostness.
Pride is indeed an insidious thing. I myself strugle with it on a daily basis.
Sojourner,
Thanks.
Yes. It is. I probably do so as well myself, I'm sure I do, but not as I used to for the most part, when it seemed that pride was trying to take over my heart sometimes.
Good that we have a faithful God to help us, and see us through in becoming more like Christ, together.
Post a Comment