 Common Man
Pride is at the root of so much, if not all, of our sin. When our first parents (Adam & Eve) fell into sin, it was because they were tempted with the idea that they could become more like God by their disobedience. The irony is that they actually became less like God by their sin. But the point we need to realize is the haughty arrogance that accompanied their evil aspiration. The Apostle John even identifies pride as being at the core of what fuels sin in us and in the world (1 John 2:15-17). This boasting is not because we possess an abundance of greatness, but rather because we possess an emptiness because of our sin, shame, and guilt. Every attempt to fill this void with achievement or accolade or accomplishment is unsuccessful because what we truly need is not glory but humility. We see the reality of pride and hubris at the heart of sin even in how the evil one attempted to draw Jesus into sin. The wiley serpent took Jesus to the top of the temple and called on Him to employ his merited favor by being saved from the fall to which Jesus responded in obedience to not tempt God. Satan also tried to tempt Jesus with wealth and power of the kingdoms of the world, but again Jesus would not sin against God (Luke 4:1-12). The point with this is that pride is pivotal in most if not all sin and this is common to every human experience including yours and mine. Get Down But how are we to be humbled? I would guess that everyone of us has experienced the process of humiliation. We have been called out on some flaw or silliness and we have felt the sting of humiliation. Humiliation is when we feel guilt and shame that is foisted upon us by someone else. Humiliation often drives us to a sinful self loathing that either tries to shift the blame for our situation to someone else (I’m looking at you Adam & Eve Genesis 3:12-13) or concludes that our suffering and misery is meaningless. I would argue, however, that this is not what the Lord would have for His people. Jesus is not seeking to humiliate the already helpless sinner but rather to lift up the humble believer. Of course, God does humble men. If we consider the biblical account of men such as Pharaoh (Exodus 14), Nabal (1 Samuel 25), and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28-33) clearly God does humble men to both demonstrate His sovereign authority and His goodness toward His people. But ultimately, the call for believers is that we would humble ourselves. In the New Testament, both Peter (1 Peter 5:5) and James (James 4:6) cite the truth that God is opposed to the arrogant and haughty person but gracious to the humble and lowly person. DIY I think we need to understand that the encouragement of scripture is that we need to humble ourselves. We should not wait for the guilt and shame to become so unbearable that we are driven down and abased, but rather, we should go joyfully to our knees in praise and reverence to our God so that He will lift us up. Peter also instructs us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will lift us up (1 Peter 5:6-7). It is from this place of humility that God will exalt us and from this humbled state we can cast our anxieties on Him. Notice the way to prevail over worries and cares in this life is not to raise yourself up but to bring yourself low before God and He will raise you up. Peter even states that humility will help us to alert to the scheming taps of the devil. High Handed Humility As a matter of fact, as believers, we are promised that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Paul also reminds us that everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame (Romans 10:11). You see, we as believers can humble ourselves boldly. We can go to our knees with great confidence in the gracious promises of our God and our Savior. This means that we can wage war against our own pride and arrogance with total abandonment knowing that when we are weak, exhausted and low He will lift us up EVERY SINGLE TIME!
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