Pride

Pride

We're Number 1?
When personalized license plates were introduced in Illinois, the Department of Motor Vehicles received over 1,000 requests for the number "1". The state official whose job it was to approve requests said, "I am not about to assign it to someone and disappoint a thousand people." What was his solution? He assigned the number to himself.
A little boy and a little girl were riding a mechanical horse in a shopping mall. The little boy, who was riding in front, turned to the little girl and said, "If one of us would get off, there would be more room for me."
Nowhere is man's creativity more apparent than in his ability to discover new and original ways to commit the original sin. It all began in the Garden of Eden when the devil convinced Adam and Eve that he had found a way for them to move God over and become "Number 1." And the beat goes on-and we keep looking for ways to succeed where Adam and Eve failed. We look for ways to be first on everyone else's priority list. We look for ways to be first in line. We look for ways to be first at the checkout counter. We look for ways to be the first ones getting out of the parking lot. We look for ways to win in the game of "first come, first served." But these are mere symptoms of the real transgression. In the case of Christians, our creativity as original sinners is revealed most clearly when we look for ways to be known as disciples of Christ without following His example.
"We are Number 1! We are Number 1!" All well and good, perhaps, to hear the chant ringing out from football fans, but when we hear it ringing out from our hearts, it is all pride and imagination. Remember, therefore, "He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts" (Luke 1:51).

Legalism
The cross of Christ is the only real corrective for legalism. In Matthew 5, James rescues the law from the legalists. We human beings have discovered several ways to reject God's law. We can defy the law, taking the antinomian stance, "I am my own person, I do not need law." Or, like the scribes and the Pharisees, we can reduce the law to hundreds of rules we can keep.
For example, the rabbis "fenced" the Sabbath commandment with 39 categories of possible violation. Each category was then broken down into specific rules. They debated whether one could wear a wooden leg or a brooch on the Sabbath. Would this be "carrying objects" on the Sabbath? Legalism begins with reverence for God's law and ends in making the law trivial and absurd.
The legalist runs the risk of at least three sins. First, he loses sight of the Lawgiver in reducing the law to rules. Second, he reduces God's great claims upon us to manageable rules he can keep. He then loses sight of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. (An old African proverb asks, "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer: "One bite at a time.") Third, having lost sight of the holy God and his own sinfulness, the legalist becomes self-righteous and judgmental of others.
In Matthew 5, Jesus restates the law as the Word of the holy God. He is not fighting the liberals; he is taking the legalists to task for reducing the law to bite-sized chunks. "The holy law of the holy God cannot be watered down so easily as you think," he says. "Anyone who reduces the great claims of the law is least in the kingdom. For example, you do not kill. Do you hate? You are proud because you do not commit adultery? Do you lust? You give your wives a legal paper of divorce; what about your commitment to live with them until death do you part? You stay inside the law in your business dealings, but is your word your bond? You live by 'an eye for an eye,'but do you love your enemies and pray for them? You must not reduce God's great claims upon you to a list of rules you can keep."
In view of Jesus' teaching about the holiness of God and this law, what do we see in the cross of Christ? The cross was the sin of sins. But why? Because the Jews and Romans broke the law, "Thou shalt not kill?" Yes, but is that all? Was there not also a law which said that blasphemers must die (Leviticus 24:16), and did not many in Israel sincerely see Jesus as a blasphemer? What happened that day outside the walls of Jerusalem was not only the breaking of God's law, it was also the rejection of the holy and loving God who gave the law, the prophets, and even His own Son. The sin was not just the breaking of the law, but the breaking of the Lawgiver's heart. Jesus was crucified by the most conscientious legalists in town.
As we stand before the cross we see a love so wide, so deep, so high that all human beings come within its reach. In the cross, God reaches out once again to those who refuse to acknowledge His law and to those legalists who trivialize His law and declare themselves righteous. All our human pride and pretension is shattered on the rock called Golgotha. The cross is the only real correction for legalism.

False Measurements
A little boy came running to his mother, shouting, "Mother, I am nine feet tall." His mother responded, "Don't talk such nonsense." "But," he said, "I really am nine feet tall. I measured myself." "Well, how did you measure yourself?" asked his mother. "I took off my shoe and measured myself with that. It is the same size as my foot, and I really am nine feet."
With a smile the mother replied, "Now I understand, my son, but I have to tell you that your measure was not the right one. We do not measure ourselves by the size of our own feet, but we must use a 12-inch ruler."
A lot of people are like the little boy. They are proud of something about which there is really no glory. Would You Hesitate to Ask?
I heard the other day about a roomful of doctors eating together. One doctor got up from the table, left the room, and in minutes he was dead. A morsel of food had lodged in his windpipe, and so he choked to death.
The tragedy of this incident is heightened by the fact that probably any one of those doctors could have performed the Heimlich Maneuver or, if need be, a tracheotomy to restore his breathing. But they did not know anything was wrong-he did not tell them. He just got up and left. And so he died.
Have you been keeping a problem to yourself that is about to get you down? Why not share it with at least one of your fellow Christians? Do not let false pride keep you from saying, "I need help." We all do. The Futility of Pride
"When pride cometh, then cometh shame: But with the lowly is wisdom" (Proverbs 11:2). "Only by pride cometh contentions" (Proverbs 13:10). In the book of Proverbs, pride is used in two senses. (1) The good sense. In this sense, it is admirable and necessary. It is associated with self-respect and personal dignity. However, we must always avoid self-contempt. "I am a nobody" is not a way to gain respect from others. Acts 2:47 shows us that it is alright to have respect from other people. This kind of pride is acceptable. (2) The bad sense is associated with arrogance, self-esteem, self-importance, and all such similar vices. Webster defines it this way: The quality or state of being proud: as inordinate self-esteem: conceit. Let us keep pride as God wants it. The chin and head up, not our nose. The pride of life is a channel by which Satan tempts man to sin (1 John 2:15-17).
In John 13 we find the disciples would not wash one another's feet because it would show they were inferior and forfeit their position in the kingdom. Christ deflated their egos and pride by washing their feet, showing that He was the greatest of all and serves all. We see a lot of people in the church today fighting for the top, but very few reach for towels. There are many today that pride destroys. It kept Felix from obeying the gospel (Acts 24:25). It also cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives. Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We must be willing to assume the role of beggar to enter the kingdom of heaven. Pride will cause us not to admit wrong or have compassion on our fellow man. It will cause us to live beyond our means (Romans 13:8). Pride leads to rebellion (Psalms 10:4); also apostasy (1 Timothy 3:6). "He who stands on a pedestal has no place but to step off"-a Chinese proverb. Who Is King of the Jungle-the Lion or the Elephant?
A big, mean lion met a monkey in the jungle. The lion pounced on the poor monkey and said, "Who is king of the jungle?" The frightened monkey replied, "You are, O mighty lion." So the lion let him go. The next animal the lion met was a zebra. He pounced on it and roared, "Who is king of the jungle?" "You are, O mighty lion." So the lion let him go. The lion next met an elephant and asked the same question. The elephant grabbed the lion, twirled him around the threw him 50 feet. The lion picked himself up and huffed, "Just because you don't know the answer is no reason to get so rough."

Allow God to Play His Music in Your Life
He was an old organist of the celebrated Freiburg Cathedral, but now that his fingers had lost their skill, he was made custodian of the great organ.
One day a visitor came to the cathedral and asked to play the organ, but the custodian refused. "No one but myself and the present organist has ever touched the keys," the custodian objected.
But the visitor pleaded until he was given permission to play a few notes. He slipped into the seat and touched first one note and then another. Then, running his fingers over the keys, he filled the whole cathedral with such beautiful music that the organist was entranced. When the visitor finished, the old custodian came to him and asked his name. And the visitor replied, "My name is Felix Mendelssohn."
And until the end of his life, the old organist would exclaim over and over, "To think I almost missed hearing Mendelssohn play on my organ!"
How many souls have been the losers for not letting the Master touch their hearts with heavenly music! No Errands, Please!
A beggar sat at the gate of the rich man's home from whose bountiful hand he had received constant gifts.
One day the rich man wanted to send a message as quickly as possible. Since his servants were all busy, he found the beggar and asked him to make the delivery for him. Lifting himself up with pride, the beggar answered his benefactor with these astonishing words, "I solicit alms, sir, but I do not run errands."
How many people treat their heavenly Father in this manner! If it were not for Him we would not have the many blessings which come from His hands. Then, when He wants us to go on an errand, or to carry a message of Jesus' love to wayward men, we say, "No, Lord; I solicit your blessings, but I do not run errands."

Big Is Not So Important
Napoleon Bonaparte was a very small man. While in training, he was often chided about his stature. One young officer especially delighted in "pulling rank" on the "Little Corporal," as he was called by the other men of his company. Said the arrogant one, "I am a bigger man than you any day." "Not bigger," replied Napoleon, "just taller." History was to prove how right he was! A Sucker or a Worker?
One day a peasant drove his sturdy ox through the village on the way to work the fields.
A flea sat on the ox's nose. At the end of the day, the ox and peasant trudged back through the village, the fields now plowed, and the flea still perched on the ox's nose.
The peasant and the ox trudged by the villages in silence. The flea, however, bowed grandly to every side, proclaiming "We've been plowing."

Alter Your Direction
A newly commissioned Navy captain took great pride in his first assignment to be in command of a battleship. One stormy night the captain saw a light moving steadily in their direction. He ordered the signalman to send the following message: "Change your course ten degrees to the south." The reply came back: "Change your course ten degrees to the north."
The captain was determined not to give way to another vessel, and so he sent a counter message. "Alter your direction ten degrees. I am the captain." The answer flashed back promptly: "Alter your direction. I am the lighthouse."
There are times when all of us have to identify with the captain; times when we allow self-will to set us off on a collision course.
"I have my rights," we say, determined to have our own way. But God, whose Word is like a lighthouse with a penetrating and unchangeable beacon, reveals a rocky shore ahead and finally we do as the captain surely did. We obey.
Our prayer for ourselves, and for the church should be as Jesus prayed, "Not my will, but Thine be done."

Self-Proclaimed Expert
It is said that Billie Burke, the Hollywood actress, was enjoying a transatlantic ocean voyage when she noticed a man at the next table was suffering from a bad cold. "Uncomfortable?" she asked sympathetically. The man nodded. "I'll tell you what to do for it," she offered. "Go back to your stateroom and drink a lot of orange juice. Take five aspirin tablets. Cover yourself with all the blankets you can find. Sweat the cold out. I know what I'm talking about. I'm Billie Burke of Hollywood." The man smiled warmly and said, "Thanks. I'm Dr. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic!"

Pride Goeth before a Fall
The Emperor Justinian built the Church of St. Sophia, that gem of human architecture. He collected marble and treasures from all over the world to make it beautiful. At last the moment for dedication arrived. The words uttered by Justinian seemed full of humility as he said that all had been done for the glory of God. But as he allowed his eyes to drink in the beauty of the building, he could hardly contain himself. Someone heard him whisper, "Solomon, I have surpassed thee." That Isn't Sin
Paul is telling the Corinthians that he who adds to the Scriptures is likely to be a proud and arrogant person, one who looks down upon others because they lack his abilities. He is in the same class as the young girl who went to her priest and confessed her sin of vanity. "What makes you think that?" asked the priest. "Because every morning, when I look into the mirror," she replied, "I think how beautiful I am." "Don't worry" said the priest, "that isn't sin; that's just a mistake." How true it is that those who are the proudest in their assumption of the right to think and act above what is written are the most mistaken. They need to humbly accept what God says of them in His Word.

I Did It All Myself
A young woman who won a coveted award smiled when her mother said, "I was praying you would get it." "Well, thank you," she replied, "but I earned this by my own hard work." Some people feel so sure of their self-sufficiency that they resent any implication that they owe God a word of thanks for the good things that come their way. Such an attitude could be justified only if a person were able to say, "I brought myself into the world, I endowed myself with all my talents and abilities, I raised myself, taught myself all I know, and control my present and future." A Bag Tied in the Middle
A New Zealand preacher described a Pharisee as being like a bag tied in the middle. Anything put into the top will not reach the bottom. The Pharisee opens his mouth wide when he prays, but his heart is tightly shut. With his lips he asks for things that his heart does not really desire. If God were to give him the spiritual blessings he asks for, it would only be a waste of good gifts, for they could not get to the bottom of the bag. His pride would choke them off, and they would never touch his heart.

Need of Squeaky Shoes
Whether we want to recognize it or not, many of us are like the Christian who went to the village merchant to purchase a pair of shoes. He was outfitted with a suitable pair and went away happy. Some weeks later he brought the shoes back. "Didn't they fit? Weren't they good?" asked the merchant. "Yes." "Then why are you returning them?" "Because they don't have a squeak." It appeared the man wanted a pair of shoes that would squeak as he walked up the aisle of the church. He wanted something that would draw attention to himself. The Wise Philosopher
It only takes a fifty-cent piece held close to your eye to blind you to the sight of the sun. Alexander the Great, full of pride over his recent triumphs, once came upon that wise philosopher Diogenes who was basking in the glory of the noonday sun. The powerful Alexander condescended to speak to the philosopher, asking if there was anything he could do for Diogenes. "Yes," was the reply. "Alexander can step aside from between me and the sunshine." Diogenes was wise in this respect. Alexander was great in conquest, but he was a fool to think he was more important to Diogenes than the sun.

Spiritual Pride
Too many of us are like the gourd that wound itself around a lofty palm tree, and in a few weeks climbed to the very top. "How old are you?" asked the gourd. "About one hundred years," said the palm. "About one hundred years, and no taller! Look, I have grown as tall as you in fewer days than you count years." "I know that well," replied the palm. "Every summer of my life a gourd has climbed up around me as proud as you are, and as short-lived as you will be." The Proud Banker
A very richly dressed man stepped into a streetcar and with a haughty air sat down beside an old man who was poorly clad. When the conductor collected the fares he said to him in a loud voice, "Let me off at my bank." Evidently knowing him, the conductor assured him he would do so. Then he reached for the fare of the poorly clothed man next to him. He evidently was just as well known to the conductor as the banker, and so he said, "Please let me off at my peanut-stand, will you, Mister?" "Yes, George," was the distinct but kindly reply. The proud man didn't smile, but all the other passengers seemed suddenly possessed with unusual cheerfulness. This rich man had a right and a duty to dress in keeping with his station; he was not sinful because he owned a bank; but it was definitely wrong for him to seek to impress others with his importance. Instead he earned their ridicule.

Man Is Full of Himself
A householder left a patch of land completely unattended. On returning from a journey he found it full of stones, old bottles, and other rubbish. Though he had never attempted to garden before, he took a spade and began to dig up the ground and clear away the debris. Then he sowed a few seeds. With tremendous excitement he watched his garden patch. When at last he saw little shoots pushing up through the ground he was almost in ecstasy. Gradually the plants grew and at last the flowers appeared. To him it looked beautiful. One day his pastor stopped by. He couldn't get the pastor excited about his garden. Finally the pastor said, "Yes, it is wonderful what Almighty God does with a patch of ground like that." "Oh, it is," said the man, "but I wish you had seen this place when the Almighty had it all to Himself!" Unfortunately, the man failed to acknowledge that it was man's fault the patch of ground was such an eyesore in the first place. But it's true that God does not choose to make a garden without a gardener.The beauties of nature may occasionally surpass man's best efforts. A field of wild flowers in bloom shows the quality God has put into nature. But in most instances God commits the raw elements to man and lets him bring beauty, order, and usefulness out of them. The Showpiece
A woman came into a milliner's store and wanted to have the trimming on her new hat changed, saying it had been placed on the wrong side. "But," said the saleslady, "the trimming is on the left side. That is where it ought to be." "It doesn't make any difference where it ought to be; it's got to be on the church side." "Church side!" gasped the astonished girl. "Yes, I sit next to the wall. I want it on the other side so the whole congregation can see it."

Praise of Self
If we stopped to listen to God's and others' opinions of us, it would have a sobering effect, and we would surely be less critical of others. We would not be like Rabbi Simeon who said, "The world is not worth thirty righteous persons such as our father Abraham. If there were only twenty righteous persons in the world, I and my son should be of the number. If there were only ten, I and my son should be of them, if there were only five, I and my son should be of the five. If there were but two, I and my son would be those two, and if there were but one, myself should be that one." Praise of self results in criticism of others. The Superior Dress
All of us readily admit that Christianity advocates justice, equality, and opportunity for all. When it comes to practicing it, do we really mean what we preach, or are we like the little Sunday school girl who was observed by her teacher trying to move as far away as possible from the little girl next to her? They were both poor children, neatly but plainly dressed. The teacher said, "What is the matter? Why don't you sit still?" "Oh," she replied, "I have a silk dress, and she has a cotton one, and I don't want her to sit by me."