DON’T LIVE FOR THAT PAT ON THE BACK
Susan Murray
Today’s Scripture: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3, ESV
Theme: Good friends set aside pride and ambition, placing the other’s needs first.
SEARCHING FOR SIGNIFICANCE
Every person on the planet desires two things: love and significance. We were designed by God to receive and give love both vertically with God and horizontally with others. He gave us work which provides our lives with meaning, purpose, and significance—all for His glory. Love and significance were fully satisfied by God in the Garden of Eden till sin, the desire for self-rule, broke our relationship with Him. This turning into self distorts both love and significance, leaving an ache that needs to be satisfied. How will we satisfy that need?
THROUGH SELFISH AMBITION AND CONCEIT? NO
We cannot deny our design and desire for significance. Ambition itself is not wrong. It is the drive behind creativity to improve the world we live in. We are reflecting God’s image when we seek with energy to improve our education, do our jobs well, create and excel at parenting, playing golf, or whatever we are attempting. The problem is not ambition but selfishness in seeking self-glory. Everything we do is supposed to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:13) but if we are honest, we fail every day. Comparisons become our modus operandi, as we seek to be seen and acknowledged as better than others. We can become full of pride and conceit when we succeed and envy when we don't. Pride and envy lead to strife in our relationships with both God and people (James 4:1-7).
THROUGH HUMILITY
What is humility? It’s not beating yourself up or looking down on yourself for failures. In fact, that’s actually the fruit of pride. It’s not false humility, which is pride over-acting humble. (Example: Saying, “I know I’m not perfect” tacked onto the end of criticizing gossip.) True humility forgets about self all together. Humility considers, counts, and values others, including their gifts and needs, as more important than our own. You may actually be better at doing something than another, but that doesn’t make you a superior person. Nor does doing poorly make you an inferior person.
Humility rejoices at others’ successes instead of being envious; nor does it enjoy an enemy's failure. Humility is a willingness to learn from others and is not easily offended. Humility doesn’t compare. Humility confesses to having a problem with being prideful and is grieved by it. Think about this quote from C.S Lewis: “If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.” We all have pride and problems with selfishness; admitting it is the first step toward humility. I am guilty of the things listed above. We cannot will ourselves to be humble. We will always need to be daily dependent on God’s grace to recognize pride, repent, and grow in humility. Grace to change is made possible by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
GOD HUMBLED HIMSELF FIRST
God is made up of three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each honoring the other above self, yet equally important. Jesus is God, humbling Himself by taking on the form of a finite human body. Think about that. The Creator, who can do as He pleases, was pleased to become like you and me. When we see how He loved by dying on the cross (putting Himself in our place) for our sin, then our hearts' greatest desires of love and significance are satisfied. We are then humbled of our pride, producing repentance and creating joy, making it possible to follow Him, dying to self and living to serve others.
Make It Personal: Do you have a pride problem? I know I do. In fact, just today I wanted to tell the pharmacist that I understood and didn’t need that much instruction. I was tempted to brag that I, too, worked in the medical field. Ugh! Help me Jesus!
Maybe growing up and even now you have voices saying how dumb, bad, and insignificant you are. You want to be lifted up and feel good about yourself. You can. The way up is down. The cross not only humbles you to your knees because of your sin, but it also lifts you up because of the love behind it. Look at what He did for you till your heart is satisfied, gradually freeing you more each day from self-centered pride and conceit to humble, self-denying service.
Pray: Abba Father, You are glorious, and yet You set your glory aside to take up the cross, paying for my sins of pride, conceit, boasting, and envy. Open my eyes to see more clearly my need for Your grace as well as Your love so I can live joyfully in You instead of self. Amen
Read: Philippians 2:1-8; James 4:1-7; Romans 7:24-25;1 Corinthians 10:31-33
Weekly Memory Verse:
“He who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.” Job 6:14, ESV