Day 22
Saturday, March 27
The Way Through Pride
“Pride is your greatest enemy; humility is your greatest friend.” – John R.W. Stott.
There is much truth in this quote from John R.W. Stott. The desire to lift ourselves above God lies at the heart of pride and leads to destruction. Our perspective on humility can be radically changed if we will ponder and meditate on the greatest example of humility in history: Jesus Christ. By the very act of leaving heaven, coming to earth, and taking the form of man, he demonstrated an unimaginable humbling of Himself. During one of His teachings, Jesus was describing how the Pharisees acted, and He spoke harshly about their prideful behavior. They did everything for show and acted in a way that was the opposite of humility.
Jesus lived the exact opposite! He put others before himself and served. He acted with humility, which shows meekness, not weakness.
James echoes these statements of humility and pride by describing the effects of focusing on a worldly and prideful life in James 4:1-10. He then ends with an encouragement to come close to God and humble yourself.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. When the world wants you to think of humility as a weakness, Jesus shows you its true strength. Matthew 23:12 says, “those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Humility is our greatest friend. It increases our hunger for God’s Word and opens our hearts to His Spirit. So check your motives and humble yourself before the Lord.
-Jason Summers
Bible Reading for the Day:
Think and Act:
1. How does pride get in the way and become our enemy? What pride do you need to confess in your life?
2. In what ways have you been seeking to be served, instead of serving others? What steps can you take to change this?