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It’s All About Me…isn’t It? Proverbs 3:34 |
July 30, 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum |
If you were with us last week you’ll remember that we spent some time thinking about the incredible array of changes that we have witnessed in our culture in recent years. Changes so significant and to such a degree that there are times when it seems as if we are living somewhere other than the place we once called home. But, interestingly, in spite of all the vast array of changes that we’ve witnessed in our lifetimes, there is one thing that hasn’t changed at all. It never has and it never will—our human nature.
And one of the most dominant characteristics of our human nature is this—we all come into the world convinced that life is all about me. In the back of our minds…and, sometimes in the front of our minds…we all know that life, as a whole, would just be a whole bunch better if everyone else would just acknowledge that life is all about me.
So, our church staff has recently been doing some thinking about this and we’ve decided that rather than continuing to fight this natural tendency, it would be much smarter to use it to our advantage. And to that end, we’re going to propose some changes in the way we operate around here. And, this morning, you’re going to get your first glimpse of some of those changes in the following video clip.
(Video clip entitled, “ME CHURCH” –a church where every member’s every need is constantly catered to.)
So, what do you think? Sound good? Great. Later on in the service you can turn in one of the cards in the pew rack to offer your suggestions on how we can become more attentive to your particular desires.
Well, I’m hoping by now that you realize that all of this was my attempt at approaching a very weighty issue with a little bit of levity. And the issue is pride. The truth is that the battle against pride is one of the most difficult and essential that we will ever face. Why? Because, if we don’t win the battle against pride, we will inevitably become its slave. And as Jesus so clearly said, “No one can serve two masters.” And that means that we can be guided by pride or we can be guided by God. But we cannot be guided by both. And that means that the battle against pride is a battle that we simply must win if we are serious about becoming the people that God wants us to be.
Now, let’s take a few moments to make sure that we clearly understand our enemy. Let me offer you a simple, working definition: “Pride, in its essence, is an overestimation of self.” The key word being “overestimation.” When we look at our self through the lens of pride we don’t see ourselves as we really are. Instead, we see an inflated view of our self that is not rooted in reality. And that means that every message that pride speaks to us is always built upon a lie.
So, what does God think about human pride? Well, as you read through the scriptures you’ll discover that some of God’s harshest words are directed specifically at the sin of pride.
PSALM 101:5 says, “Whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart him will I not endure.” God has no interest in being associated with or in any way connected to that person who is overly enamored of himself.
In their New Testament Epistles both Peter and James include this reference from Proverbs 3:34, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
The key word there is, “opposes.” It’s a military term that speaks of going out to battle dressed in full battle array. Using every weapon in your arsenal to defeat your enemy. That’s how vigorously God opposes the sin of pride.
Why does God so detest human pride? Because it's offensive to Him and destructive to us. And one of the areas hardest hit by the destructive impact of pride is within the realm of our personal relationships—our relationship with God and also our relationships with one another.
To begin with, pride stands as one of biggest obstacles that we have to overcome just to establish a personal relationship with God. God’s desire is that everyone would receive the gift of salvation that He offers us through Christ. The problem is that pride is constantly working to convince us that we deserve absolutely everything that we get, but there’s just no way that any of us deserves to be saved. Salvation can only be received as a gift of God’s grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” There is not a thing in the world that anyone of us can do to earn or deserve to be saved. And if our pride will not allow us to admit that, the gift of salvation will remain forever beyond our grasp.
Several years ago I was visiting with an elderly man who had actively and adamantly resisted all things related to church, God or Jesus for years. But his wife had faithfully kept her husband on our church prayer list for years. During this particular visit with him he suddenly dropped his resistance, acknowledged his sin, asked God’s forgiveness and committed the rest of his life to Jesus.
As you can imagine, it was a time of great joy for all three of us. Then, when the hugging and crying and celebrating had finally subsided, he looked at me and asked, “Is that it?” And I laughed and said, “Well, you’ve got a lifetime of growing to do but, yeah, that’s it. According to the promise of God’s word, the gift of eternal life is now yours.” He shook his head in amazement and said, “After all these years of struggle it just seems like I ought to have to do something.”
Folks, that’s pride. Pride always wants to do something so that we can feel like we’ve earned our salvation. But Christ did everything that had to be done to make it possible for us to get us right with God. All that’s left for us is to simply accept the gift.
Now, sadly, even after we accept the gift of salvation through Christ, we’re still not done with our battle with pride. Once we begin our new life with Christ pride now stands as stands as one of biggest obstacles that we have to overcome to experience the spiritual growth that God wants us to accomplish in us. Here’s the conflict that pride presents us.
--On the one hand, God is working in us to sustain our spiritual growth over the course of our entire lifetime so that we are continually taking on more and more of the mind and character of Christ.
--But at the very same time, pride is also working to convince us that we’ve already grown enough and it’s perfectly OK to stay at whatever level of spiritual growth that we’ve already attained.
Jesus tells the story of a man who was filled with pride because of his prestigious religious heritage. Everyday he would go to the temple and loudly pray, “Father, I thank you that I am not like other men.” Jesus’ response was that the only one impressed by that prayer was the guy who was praying it. God’s not interested in prayers that grow from pride. Jesus said that the prayer that gets God’s attention is the one that grows from humility and sounds more like this: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Here’s the point. When we compare ourselves to Jesus we are always keenly aware of the fact that we’ve still got a lot of growing yet to do. But when we compare ourselves to other people pride always steps in to say, “Hey, compared to that guy you’re doing just fine.”
I love the story told by a very well known pastor who was invited to speak at a conference attended by some of the greatest preachers from all around the world. Arriving at the conference he walked into the grand hall, surveyed the room and as he prepared to deliver his speech he turned to his wife and asked, “Honey, how many great preachers do you suppose there are in this room at this very moment.” Without missing a beat she turned to him and said, “Exactly one less than you think.”
Folks, whether we are at the beginning, the middle or way on down the line there is never any room for pride in our relationship with God
But pride doesn’t damage only our relationship with God, it can also do tremendous damage to the relationships that we have with one another and that’s tragic because these relationships that connect us to one another are among the most precious gifts in life; especially those relationships we enjoy with brothers and sisters in the Lord. And maintaining these relationships is clearly important to God because the scriptures are filled with instructions to help us do so.
…Colossians 3:13 says that we should “bear with each another;”
…Philippians 2:3 says, “consider others better than yourselves;”
…1 John 3:23 says that we are to “love one another;”
…Ephesians 4:32 says that we are to “forgive(ing) one another;”
…Romans 12:10 says that we are to, “honor one another above yourselves;”
…Romans 12:16 tells us to, “live in harmony with one another;”
…and Matthew 5:9 tells us that God has special blessings reserved specifically for those who work diligently to “make peace” between one another.
But even though God’s word is very clear about the importance of doing all that we can to maintain healthy relationships, pride can’t hear any of that. Pride is so consumed with itself that it is willing to turn a deaf ear to God’s word and turn its back on the closest of friends rather than admit a wrong, say, “I’m sorry,” lose an argument or forego an opportunity to get even.
2 Corinthians 5:18 says that, “God…reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…” But pride says, “Sorry, I didn’t sign on for that particular ministry.”
So, how do we tame this beast called pride?
First, if pride has convinced you that you need to be worthy of God’s love before you can experience His salvation, listen to Romans 5:8 which says, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Folks, what that means is that God knows that we’re sinners and still loves us. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect to be forgiven. He just wants us to be honest about our need to be forgiven. And you can do that right now with a prayer as simple as this, “God, I know that I’ve sinned and I’m asking for Your forgiveness.” Folks, that’s the first step toward a life-changing personal relationship with God.
And if you are a Christian, but pride has convinced you that you’ve already attained all the spiritual growth that you need, I would urge to keep your eyes on Jesus. Resist the temptation to compare your spiritual condition to anyone other than Jesus. And if you’ll do that I will guarantee that pride will never again be an impediment to your spiritual growth.
And, finally, if pride is damaging your personal relationships…if pride is keeping you from doing those things that are necessary to maintain close personal friendships…learn from the example of Jesus about whom Paul says in Philippians 2, “though he was God”… he “humbled himself” …even to the point of death.
Jesus set aside His life to bring us into relationship with God and with one another. Surely we can set aside our pride to protect those relationships.
© Copyright 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum