PRIDE OR HUMILITY – WHICH HAVE YOU CHOSEN?

How Low Will You Go?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set
you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
(John 13:14-15)

MEDITATION:
The scriptures tell us that God hates 7 things
and one of the things He hates is, ‘pride’.
    There are six things the Lord hates, seven that
    are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises
    wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
    a false witness who pours out lies and a person who
    stirs up conflict in the community.
    (Proverbs 6:16-19)

At the top of His list is “haughty eyes” which equates to pride.
The word haughty is defined by Merriam-Webster as
    “blatantly and disdainfully proud.”
It is at the opposite end of the spectrum from ‘humility’
(which is a Godly trait).

We’re not talking about pride in doing a good job; we should always
strive to do our best. What we are talking about is arrogant pride,
which is closely associated with egotism. Arrogant pride causes a
person to think they are too good to do certain things. They feel
they are ‘above’ performing any menial tasks.

If asked, most people with arrogant pride would deny that they
have that characteristic.

Let’s take a quick test.
    Whenever you are at church (or anywhere else) and you see
    a bulletin or other piece of paper lying on the floor, what do
    you do?

    Do you pick it up and dispose of it properly, or
    do you walk past it and leave it for someone else to handle?

    Do you say to yourself,
        “We pay people to take care of cleaning up the lobby or sanctuary”?

    If you leave it, could it be that you did not stoop to pick
    up someone else’s trash because it was ‘beneath you’? If
    so, then you are displaying an attitude that you are better
    than everyone else.

How much of a ‘servant heart’ do you have? Our attitude is
revealed by where we draw the line in what we are willing to
do.

The disciples were ‘all about’ serving their Master, but were
not willing to stoop to washing the feet of others. It was meal
time and everything was available for completing the lowest
of servant’s tasks. However, not one of the disciples made a
move to pick up the basin and towel. It was obvious that no
one was going to do what should be done.

Jesus gave them a living example of humility. They would not
stoop to wash the feet of others, but Jesus did. He wrapped a
towel around His waist, poured water in the basin and began
washing the feet of the disciples. Then He explained,
    “…I have set you an example….”
    (John 13:15)

Jesus showed the disciples that the very One they served was
willing to stoop to serve others. Why? Because even though
they served Him, He was not prideful, but showed that He was
also a servant (a humble servant).
    “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,
     but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
     (Matthew 20:28)

ACTION:
Anything God hates SHOULD NOT be a part of our lives and when
Jesus gives us an example to follow, that SHOULD be a part of our
lives. Ask yourself,
    “How low will I go to follow the
      example of Jesus and serve my Savior?”

There was a football player who played for the college team in
our town and later became runner-up to Joe Namath as rookie
of the year in the AFL (1965). He was a small man, but had a
tenacious desire to excel. He took pride in his abilities and was
nicknamed by some, “Meanest Man in Football”.

His name was John ‘Bull’ Bramlett and when He met Jesus,
everything about him changed. I know this firsthand because
I saw him in action at our weekly Fellowship of Christian
Athletes breakfasts. John would deliver food from the kitchen
to everyone, before he would sit down to eat. He also became a
passionate preacher who wanted everyone to find what he had
found in Jesus.

If you want to read more about John (who is no longer with us),
look for the book,
    “Taming the Bull: The John “Bull” Bramlett Story”

What is ‘beneath you’? Pride is a danger we must be constantly
monitoring. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to make us sensitive
to the things we do, or don’t do, that are signs of arrogant pride
or egotism. Then we need to pray that He will help us to replace
arrogance with humility. Jesus ‘set an example’ of humility for
His followers (which includes us).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for any failure on my
part to follow the example Jesus has given us. Show
me any areas of my life that indicate an arrogant
pride in me. Give me a humble attitude and spirit
so that I will not consider any ‘task’ as being ‘below
me’. Help me to look for opportunities to prove to
myself that I am choosing ‘humbleness’ over ‘pride’.”

BLOG: utvolwoody.com