There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
C. S. Lewis spoke of pride:
In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. The virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called humility … The utmost evil is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that are mere fleabites in comparison. It was through pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind … If you want to find out how proud you are, the easiest way is to ask yourself, “How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or patronize me, or show off?… Is it because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise?” … Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.
The greatest struggle of a believer is with pride. All other sins flow from this one polluted stream. Ask God to free you from pride’s grasp. Boundless freedom awaits those who make the journey.
Dear God, free me from pride’s grasp. I want to walk humbly with You.
Stanley, C. F. (2000). Into His presence (p. 29). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Humility is fundamental to spiritual growth and blessing.
It’s no secret that family problems are on the rise. Husbands and wives can’t get along. Children rebel against their parents. Unfortunately, most of the proposed solutions deal only with the peripheral issues instead of the central issue, which is pride. There will never be unity or happiness in a family without humility.
Humility is not only essential in families; it is also a basic ingredient for all spiritual blessing. The book of Proverbs is rich with such teaching. “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom” (11:2). “Before honor comes humility” (15:33). “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life” (22:4). James tells us, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (4:6). Too often we forget how important humility is.
Did you know that pride was the first sin ever committed? An angel named Lucifer tried to exalt himself above God: “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isa. 14:13–14). He said “I will” five times, and God said, “No, you won’t” and cast him out of Heaven. Lucifer, “son of the morning,” became Satan, “the accuser.”
Every sin—whatever it is—has pride at its root, because all sin is defiance of God. What could be more prideful than saying, “I won’t follow God’s standard”? So in trying to overcome sin, we must also deal with our pride.
It is impossible to be saved without humility. God isn’t impressed with credentials; you must come to God and say, “I am a sinner, and I realize I am worthy of nothing.” There’s no other way into God’s family and no other way to walk once you’re there.
Though you may have read your Bible, prayed, gone to church all your life, or even founded churches, if you aren’t walking in humility, you aren’t walking a worthy walk. The worthy walk begins with “all humility.”
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Suggestions for Prayer: Consider how pride manifests itself in some areas of your life, confess those to God, and ask His forgiveness.
For Further Study: Read Luke 18:9–14. Compare the attitudes of the tax collector and the Pharisee. Which one pleased God and why?1
“Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:9–11
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God will exalt the humble.
Having plumbed the depths of Christ’s humiliation (Phil. 2:5–8), Paul now soars to the heights of His exaltation (vv. 9–11). Like Paul, the apostle Peter affirmed that the great theme of Old Testament prophecy was the sufferings of Christ and the glory to follow (1 Peter 1:11). Regarding Christ, the writer of Hebrews says that “for the joy set before Him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). Christ understood His sufferings in light of His exaltation.
Paul’s purpose in Philippians 2 was not simply to detail the humiliation and exaltation of Christ but to use those truths as a practical illustration. He was calling for unity produced by humility (vv. 2–4), with Christ as the preeminent example of humility (vv. 5–11). But beyond the humiliation of Christ, Paul also affirms that He was exalted. The implication is that when we willingly humble ourselves as Christ did, God will lift us up. As James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
It is true that the man who humbles himself is the one whom God exalts, and the man who exalts himself is the one whom God will humiliate. In the divine economy, it is by giving that one receives, by serving that one is served, by losing one’s life that one finds life, and by dying to self that one lives. These principles follow one another as surely as night follows day.
Like Christ, you will be exalted in Heaven one day. Meditate on that truth, and be encouraged by it as you go through your earthly trials.
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Suggestions for Prayer: Thank the Lord for the exaltation that awaits you in Heaven.
For Further Study: Read the following verses: Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; 18:14; 1 Peter 5:6. What principle do they all teach?1
“Although [Christ] existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond–servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:6–8
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Christ is the perfect example of humility.
In his book Miracles, English scholar C.S. Lewis used this analogy to describe the incarnation of Christ:
One may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid–air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the death–like region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to colour and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover. He and it are both coloured now that they have come up into the light: down below, where it lay colourless in the dark, he lost his colour, too.
That was how Lewis illustrated the Incarnation, the central miracle of Christianity, which is also addressed in Philippians 2:5–8. In those verses Jesus is shown to be the perfect model of humility—the perfect illustration of Paul’s instructions in verses 3–4. He did nothing out of selfishness or conceit but regarded others as more important than Himself.
We are to imitate Christ’s perfect example of humility. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” What about your life? Does it demonstrate a Christlike humility that God will delight to honor by exaltation?
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Suggestions for Prayer: Thank the Lord for Christ, whose life exemplifies the perfect pattern of humility for you to follow. ✧ Think of areas in your life where you are especially prone to exalt yourself at the expense of others. ✧ Acknowledge your sin to God and ask Him to help you be humble in those areas.
For Further Study: Read Isaiah 14:12–17 and Ezekiel 28:12–19, which tell of Lucifer’s fall from his exalted position in the presence of God. Write down ways his attitude is opposite Christ’s in Philippians 2:5–8.1
The Gospel of Luke tells of Jesus encountering crowds of people “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Lk. 18:9).[1] They were basically self-righteous, prideful, and oblivious to their own brokenness. They went about sizing up others as deplorable wretches ruining society. Those the self-righteous criticized were indeed sinners; however, the real problem had to do with the self-righteous failing to include themselves among the sinners. They were spiritually blind to their own fallen condition.
To address the problem of the self-righteous, Jesus tells the parable about a pharisee and a tax collector coming to the temple of God for prayer:
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk. 8:11-13).
The audience is then blindsided by Jesus’ point to the parable: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other” (Lk. 8:14a). The tax collector leaves justified not the pharisee! What?
Let us take a closer look at this short yet profound parable. The Pharisees were known for their strict observance of Jewish laws and traditions. They were considered “the most pious people in regular Palestinian Jewish society.”[2] They belonged to a movement that sought to guard the holiness of Israel by adhering to the Mosaic Law with remarkable rigor. But they were tainted people nonetheless. They even viewed themselves as morally superior to others to a fault.
In Jesus’s parable, the Pharisee prays aloud in the temple, but his prayer lacks gratitude and repentance. Instead, he lists his own righteous deeds— “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” The Pharisee looks down on the tax collector nearby, openly criticizing him before God — “I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” Maybe fellow Jews overhearing the prayer would have been impressed about the Pharisee thanking the Lord for his pious condition. But all this was outward appearances.
One can even take the Pharisaical prayer as cruel. “No one who is in good health ridicules one who is sick for being laid up and bedridden. He is rather afraid, for perhaps he may become the victim of similar sufferings. A person in battle, because another has fallen, does not praise himself for having escaped from misfortune. The weakness of others is not a suitable subject for praise for those who are in health,” writes Cyril of Alexandria (Commentary on Luke, Homily 120).[3]
The tax collectors in first century Jewish society were viewed as “the most despicable,” and they were “often considered traitors to their people. Pharisees.”[4] A tax collector worked for the Roman Empire. It is also understood that “tax gatherers sometimes collected extra money and kept the profit; although this practice was not legal, it was difficult to prevent,”[5] which prompted John the Baptist to tell the tax collectors coming to receive baptism, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do” (Lk. 3:13). Tax collectors were then targets of disdain among his Jewish peers. The tax collector in Jesus’ parable retains the negative social stigma.
But the tax collector in Jesus’ parable approaches God with a broken and contrite heart. Standing far off, he refuses to lift his eyes to heaven, demonstrating a profound sense of unworthiness. He beats his breast, a gesture of sorrow and remorse. He can only utter a simple yet heartfelt petition: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” He is humble. He recognizes his need for mercy. He epitomizes what it means to come before God with a genuine, repentant heart.
Not the Pharisee but the tax collector stands justified or vindicated before God. The tax collector is vindicated. He stands right. The justified one, despite past actions, yet out of the depths of the soul with humility calls out for mercy. The Lord extends mercy. Thus, the repentant tax collector stands right with God. Then comes the moment in the parable wherein Jesus highlights the crucial principle: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 18:14b). God values a contrite spirit over a proud display of righteousness. While the Pharisee relies on his own works and righteousness, the tax collector places himself entirely at God’s mercy.
How dangerous is pride and self-righteousness. The Pharisee’s downfall lies in his belief that he had achieved moral superiority through his religious practices. That pride blinded him to his own need for God’s grace and separated him from others. In contrast, the humble tax collector sought mercy, and opened his heart to receive God’s grace.
Are we relying on our achievements, or are we willing to acknowledge our need for God’s mercy? Beware of stumbling into the trap of comparing ourselves to others, just as the Pharisee did, and thinking that our “good deeds” make us worthy. But those who are truly close to the Light shining throughout the universe will recognize their own brokenness and with humble hearts give worship to the Lord.
It is often pointed out that Jesus ate with tax gatherers and sinners. But never miss the point and significance of who the Lord dined with. The fact of the matter is everyone who ate with Jesus was a sinner — Pharisees, tax gatherers, disciples, and so forth. All who stand with God are recipients of God’s mercy. Grace upon grace. We err in overlooking our own sin while pointing out the sin in others. We can even err in simply denying our sin is truly sin! (This is starting to happen a lot these days.) But the right step towards the kingdom of God begins with our confession of sin.
The tax collector’s humble entreaty is echoed in the ancient prayer: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy.” May we set aside our pride and humbly ask for God’s mercy. This simple act of humility brings us closer to the heart of God and aligns us with the essence of Jesus’s teachings on grace, humility, and love.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 18:9–10.
[3] Cited from Arthur A. Just, ed., Luke, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005).
[4] Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, Lk 18:9–10.
It is difficult to find one English word that captures the diverse meaning of the word translated as “forbearing” in today’s verse. Some say it speaks of contentment, gentleness, generosity, or goodwill toward others. Others believe it refers to mercy or leniency toward the faults or failures of others. Still others claim it describes patience, referring to someone who submits to injustice or mistreatment but doesn’t retaliate with hatred or bitterness. I believe the best translation is “graciousness,” because in the Christian sense that word embodies all the other meanings.
Forbearance also includes another important element: humility. The humble Christian doesn’t hold a grudge but trusts God whenever he is mistreated, misjudged, or misrepresented. A person like that doesn’t demand his rights. God manifested His grace to us in the same way—mankind abused and maligned Jesus Christ though He deserved none of it, yet He still reached out to us in love (cf. Rom. 5:10). Humility and graciousness will help you be stable in spite of the circumstances.1
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
—Romans 7:18
Three considerations should destroy pride forever within our breasts: the majesty of God, the enormity of our sins and the wonder of Christ’s redeeming death. But so tenacious is the root of Adam that we are often proud even of our want of pride. It is not uncommon to see holy men defending their holiness with positive violence and resenting any doubt cast upon their perfections.
For a Christian to claim credit for any good work is a violation of the most elementary teachings of the New Testament. Two things are taught clearly there: that I can of myself do no good thing; and if any good deed is done, it is the Lord Himself who has done it. That should settle our pride of service for good, but in fact it is not so. We still love to bask in the praise that our Christian efforts bring us.
For a Christian to revel in the praise he is accorded for some good work is as logically askew as for a singer to rush out and take a bow for another singer’s solo. It is a cheap form of robbery and must be exceedingly hateful to God. TET077-078
Father, forgive me for the pride that is so ugly, yet so close to the surface. Remind me today that I can do all things through Christ—but nothing of myself. Amen.1
I make no claim to being a paragon of Christian virtues, including the virtue of humility. So as usual, I am writing a piece like this as much for myself as for anyone else. And I will say it at the outset: please pray for me in this regard. I have a long way to go in reflecting real biblical humility – and in eschewing carnal pride.
But I can perhaps say a few words about this matter. Sadly, most of us have known Christians, including too many Christian leaders, who may lack in basic humility, love and grace. They can be rather full of themselves, they can be proud, they can look down on others, they can be condescending, and so on.
And this might especially be true of those who are more intellectually inclined, be they teachers or writers or theologians or academics or scholars. Great learning need not make one proud, but often it can lead in that direction. So care must be taken here. And again, since I tend to be rather cerebral, I too certainly need to be on guard here.
Like you, I have experienced some of these folks who seem to have little time for me, as they busy themselves in their academic pursuits. They can ignore you or slight you and make you feel like you are a nobody. But on the other hand, I have also known some very bright and very-well known Christian leaders and scholars who have been quite the opposite.
They will take time out of their busy schedules to acknowledge me or reply to me or even thank me for something. This has happened to me at times when I write a book review of some well-known and distinguished author for example. Sometimes they will respond to me on the social media or on my own website and thank me for my review and say a few kind words.
So being full of ‘smarts’ does not of necessity mean you will become proud, aloof, arrogant and out of touch with the mere masses. But too often this can be the case. So let me speak to this a bit more, including looking at what steps we might take to ensure this is not the case in our own lives.
On humbling ourselves
Scripture of course often speaks about humility, and its opposite, pride. I want to draw upon just one passage here, James 4:10. It says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” One major question I at least want answered is this: How do I humble myself?
Again, while not claiming to be an expert in this area, I can offer a few worthwhile answers. It was John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion who famously spoke of the need for a proper basis of all true knowledge: the knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves.
And in that order. As we begin to know God as he really is, that cannot but help impact us and help us to see ourselves more truly and more accurately. As we get more and more genuine knowledge and understanding of God and self, the only real result should be for us to be humbled.
How can we not become humble as we contemplate who God really is in all his majesty and greatness and holiness and purity and perfection? And in the light of who God is, how can we not see ourselves for who we really are: selfish sinners who have as a default position pride, arrogance and the belief that we are so much better than everyone else?
As William Law (1698-1761), the English author of A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life once put it: “Humility is nothing else but a right judgment of ourselves.” That’s it. True humility is knowing who we really are, in the light of knowing God as he really is.
Not only that, but when we contemplate Christ and his work, that too can only lead us to humbling ourselves and getting on our knees before him. That the very Son of God should humble himself, come to earth in the form of a helpless baby, and end up suffering a cruel death on the cross for our sins must have an impact on us. And that impact is to humble us and take away all grounds for boasting and pride in ourselves.
So it is not so much a matter of us trying to make ourselves humble. Humility might be more of a byproduct. As we gaze into His face and behold his wonder and beauty and majesty, that should result in a proper understanding of who we really are: poor, wandering and failing creatures who need Christ every moment of our lives.
So a crucial antidote to pride is to stop measuring ourselves with others. We can always find those that are less intelligent or wise or kind or loving or patient or whatever than we are. But when we look to Christ, we see how VERY far short we all measure up. That undercuts any reason for boasting and arrogance. Looking at the cross should always knock us off our perches and send us to our knees.
Humility (Essential Christian Classics) by Murray, Andrew (Author)
It is worth closing here with the words of someone much more appropriate to speak on a topic such as this than I am. In 1895 Andrew Murray (1828-1917), the South African pastor and writer penned the book Humility. His closing words are these:
“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Jesus himself is the proof of the truth of these words. He is the pledge of the certainty of their fulfillment to us. Let us take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, for He is meek and lowly in heart. If we are but willing to stoop to Him, as He has stooped to us, He will yet stoop to each one of us again, and we will find ourselves equally yoked with Him. As we enter deeper into the fellowship of His humility, and either humble ourselves or bear the humbling of men, we can count on the Spirit of His exaltation, “the spirit of glory and of God,” to rest upon us. The presence and the power of the glorified Christ will come to those who are of a humble spirit.
When God can again have His rightful place in us, He will lift us up. Make His glory your care in humbling yourself. He will make your glory His care in perfecting your humility, and breathing into you as your abiding life, the very Spirit of His Son. As the all-pervading life of God possesses you, there will be nothing so natural and nothing so sweet as to be nothing, with not a thought or wish for self because all is occupied with Him who filleth all. “Most gladly will I glory in my weakness, that the strength of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Brethren, have we not here the reason that our consecration and our faith have availed so little in the pursuit of holiness? It was by self and its strength that the work was done under the name of faith. It was for self and its happiness that God was called in. It was, unconsciously, but still truly, in self and its holiness that the soul rejoiced. We never knew that humility – absolute, abiding, Christlike humility and self-effacement, pervading and marking our whole life with God and man – was the most essential element of the life of the holiness we sought for.
It is only in the possession of God that I lose myself. As it is in the height and breadth and glory of the sunshine that the littleness of the speck playing in its beams is seen, even so humility is the taking our place in God’s presence to be nothing but a speck dwelling in the sunlight of His love.
“How great is God! How small am I!
Lost, swallowed up in Love’s immensity!
God only there, not I.”
May God teach us to believe that to be humble, to be nothing in His presence, is the highest attainment and the fullest blessing of the Christian life. He speaks to us: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15). Be this our portion!
“Oh, to be emptier, lowlier,
Mean, unnoticed and unknown,
And to God a vessel holier,
with Christ and Christ alone!”
Prayer: Lord, teach me more about yourself and myself so that humility, not pride, might characterise my life. Amen.
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