Bible Reading: Job 32 & 33; Acts 14
“He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride” Job 33:17 (NLT)
All wrong in the world today started from the sin of Pride. Pride made an angel of God who was very beautiful and good at what he does to begin to think of taking the place of God. Hear this angel in Isaiah 14:14 (KJV), “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” God saw his heart and threw him out of the heavens – far from the throne. No wonder, the scripture says “Pride goeth before destruction… “ Proverbs 16:18a (KJV). But there is a cure for pride. It is Humility.
Humility means God having His way in our lives. It means man surrendering his soul (mind, will and emotion) to God. Humility is the ground upon which other virtues grow. Galatians 5:22 listed the fruit of the Spirit, but without humility one is not a candidate for the virtues. Virtue here, is a measure of your closeness to the character of Christ. Even Grace comes only to the humble. And without grace you find it difficult, if not impossible, to overcome sin.
Jesus Christ is humility personified. While pride makes us look down on others, humility makes us pick them up. Jesus picked up so many downtrodden and condemned people like the man who had been sick due to sin for 38 years, the woman who committed adultery and the condemned criminal nailed to the stake beside him. Not forgetting the Samaritan woman who had been married five times before and now living with a sixth man who she is not married to. Jesus never discriminated against anybody. He only came down hard on the proud Pharisees.
The Bible says God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). No wonder Jesus resisted the Pharisees for their self-righteousness, looking down on sinners, puffing up in the market places and public places as people close to God. So many outward shows that was not their real persons. Even today, Christian can be proud and not know it. It can be beacause of your beauty, intelligence or gift. These can make you start looking down on others. But Jesus was not so. For His humility- for coming so low from a God to a man and humbling himself and looking after the interest of others, God lifted him high (Philipians 2:4-7)
To kill that pride in you Jesus is the answer. He says “follow Me and I will make you..” Come to Him today and you will begin to manifest His character.
Prayer: Father, thank You for giving us Your Son as an example to follow. I receive the grace to continually look unto Him.
Bro. Onyema Aghanenu