Pride in Christian preaching is the dangerous overestimation of oneself that blinds believers to God's grace and the needs of others, often leading to downfall (Proverbs 16:18). Illustrations use images like mirrors obscured by silver, moth-eaten garments, and false measurements to depict how pride distorts true self-understanding and disrupts spiritual growth (James 4:6).
Overvaluing oneself is foolish, like a rat weighing itself on a scale.
The Chinese call overdoing a thing, a hunchback making a bow. When a man values himself overmuch, they compare him to a rat falling into a scale and weighing itself.--_Chambers’s Journal._
Many wrongly believe they are always right, illustrating the sin of pride.
There are too many men who make the sentiment of this verse their creed:
This is the burden of my song, I sing it day and night: Why are so many always wrong When I am always right?
Pride in opinion can lead to harmful decisions despite better alternatives.
See COMPARISONS, APT; SELF-FLATTERY.
CONCEIT OF OPINION
When Lord Hardwicke’s marriage bill was in the House of Commons, Fox, afterward Lord Holland, saying that one clause gave unheard-of power to parents on the marriage of minors, proceeded to lay open the chicanery and jargon of the lawyers, and the pride of their mufti, and drew a most severe picture of the Chancellor under the application of the story of a gentlewoman at Salisbury, who, having a sore leg, sent for a country surgeon, who pronounced that it must be cut off. The gentlewoman, unwilling to submit to the operation, sent for another more merciful, who said he could save her leg without the least operation. The surgeons conferred. The ignorant one said: “I know it might be saved, but I have given my opinion; my character depends upon it, and we must carry it through.” The leg was cut off. (Text.)--CROAKE JAMES, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
Pride can blind people to the impossibility of their grandiose ideas.
* * * * *
Artists have a good many queer customers, and they have advantages for observing what vague ideas it is possible for a man to entertain respecting art and nature, too. An ex-soldier went to the studio of D. J. Gue, of Brooklyn, one day, to inspect a picture of Lookout Mountain that the artist had been painting. The picture pleased him, and he evidently had thoughts of purchase, but he was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea that he communicated thus: “I was in that fight, mister, and I’d like you to paint my picture on that. Let’s see. You could paint me right here in this field, facing front, with my left hand resting on top of the mountain.” The man was in thorough earnest. He did not see that if drawn to scale his finger would be about 5,000 feet high, and that he would have a reach of arm that would enable him to grasp at an object six or seven miles away. Mr. Gue precipitately declined the commission.--Brooklyn _Eagle_.
Pride can cause conflict even over small matters like how milk is delivered.
[Illustration: SHOWING THE RISE IN THE AVERAGE PRICE OF 96 STAPLE COMMODITIES.]
[Illustration: SHOWING THE AVERAGE RISE IN WAGES BASED ON AN INVESTIGATION OF 4,000 LARGE INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS.]
PRIDE
E. H. Harriman, the railroad magnate, has a big country place in Virginia--a hunting-box, he calls it, but it is more like a hunting Waldorf-Astoria. One morning Mr. Harriman arose early and was sitting on one of the porches.
A milkman drove up and got out to bring in some milk. The milkman started in the front door.
“Here, you,” snapped Harriman. “Take that milk around the back way. What do you mean by bringing it in this way?”
“Mean?” said the milkman. “I mean that I am a Virginia gentleman, and I am not accustomed to be talked to in this manner, suh. I shall deliver this milk where I please, suh. If you do not like it you have a means of obtaining satisfaction, suh. No No’therner like you can talk to me like that, suh.”
Harriman retired. Next morning, when the same milkman arrived, Harriman greeted him with a low bow. “You are right,” he said. “Take the milk in the front way and leave it on the piano.” (Text.)
Appealing to pride can restore courage and calm in fearful situations.
* * * * *
Recently I read the experience of a yachting party on the Mediterranean. A sudden storm had come up and threatened to overwhelm the boat. One of the two women on board lost her head completely and seemed crazed by fear. Suddenly she cried out to the other woman sitting calmly beside her: “You know you are as frightened as I am. Why don’t you show it, too?” “Oh, yes, I am frightened,” replied the other woman, “for I know the danger we are in. But, if we are going to die, do let us at least die like ladies.” And that appeal to pride wrought a complete change in the frightened woman, she became calm and even spoke words of encouragement to the others.
— M. O. SIMMONS
Pride isolates and leads to downfall, shown by the icicle melting under the sun's heat.
* * * * *
There was once a proud little Icicle who stood all alone out in the cold. She wore a dress that sparkled like diamonds, but for all that, no one cared to go near her. The snowflakes were having a game of tag in the sky. Nearer and nearer the earth they played until some of them espied Miss Icicle.
“Do come and play with us!” they cried.
But the proud Icicle shook her head. “No,” she said, “you are entirely too common to play with me; I am a princess.”
“I’ll show the world what you are, you silly thing,” called Grandfather Sun from his cloud chariot. So he sent some of his children, the Sunbeams, to breathe on Miss Icicle’s head. This made her feel so sick that she wept great tears. The more she wept the thinner she grew, till at last a tiny pool of water was all that was left. (Text.)
Prideful short-lived gourd contrasts with patient, enduring palm tree's long growth.
* * * * *
A gourd wound itself around a lofty palm, and in a few weeks climbed to its very top. “How old mayest thou be?” asked the gourd. “About a hundred years,” was the reply. “A hundred years and no taller! Only look, I have grown as tall as you in less than a hundred days,” said the puffed-up gourd. The stately palm calmly replied: “I know that well. Every summer of my life a gourd has climbed up my body and spread over my branches, as proud as thou art, and as short-lived as thou shalt be.”
Sudden prosperity can cause spiritual downfall like a tree struck by lightning.
The following extract points a needed caution to those who are blest with prosperity:
Some time ago we saw a tree that had been struck by lightning and actually rent asunder. It had been blown open as perfectly as if the pith of the tree had been lined with gunpowder and touched off. The reason for this is easily explained. The tree had been struck by lightning before it had been wet by the storm. Consequently the lightning bolt followed the line of least resistance, which was the damp wood under the bark. The electric current heated the sap, and, converting it so quickly into steam, the explosion was the result.
How very like that tree are a great many people! Prosperity is the electric current. Coming upon them so suddenly, as is so often the case, they are unable to bear the pressure of elevation and honor and distinction, and are rent asunder with a crash. They “go down” with a thud.
As the forest tree that has been struck by the killing bolt drops only to rot, so does the man who has been overelated by prosperity.
True independence respects others and avoids rude pride, showing humility in success.
We may be properly independent of the patronage of royalty, but this independence need not take the form of rudeness as with the musician in these incidents:
Liszt refused to play at court of Queen Isabella in Spain because the court etiquette forbade the introduction of musicians to royalty. In his opinion even crowned heads owed a certain deference and homage to the sovereignities of art, and he determined it should be paid.
He met Czar Nicholas I, who had very little notion of the respect due to any one but himself, with an angry look and a defiant word; he tossed Frederick William IV’s diamonds into the side scenes, and broke a lance with Louis Philippe, which cost him a decoration. He never forgave that thrifty King for abolishing certain musical pensions and otherwise snubbing art. He refused on every occasion to play at the Tuilleries. One day the king and his suite paid a “private view” visit to a pianoforte exhibition of Erard’s. Liszt happened to be in the room, and was trying a piano just as his Majesty entered. The King advanced genially toward him and began a conversation, but Liszt merely bowed with a polished but icy reserve.
“Do you still remember,” said the King, “that you played at my house when you were but a boy and I Duke of Orleans? Much has changed since then.”
“Yes, sire,” replied Liszt dryly, “but not for the better.”
The King showed his royal appreciation of the repartee by striking the great musician’s name off the list of those who were about to receive the Cross of the Legion of Honor.--H. R. HAWEIS, “My Musical Memories.”
Just before take-off on an airplane, the stewardess reminded Muhammud Ali to fasten his seat-belt.
"Superman don't need no seatbelt," replied Ali.
"Superman don't need no plane, either," said the stewardess.
Ali fastened his belt.
___________________________
Tom Sirotnak and Ken Walker, WARRIORS (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), page 161
Pali, this bull has killed me.” So said Jose Cubero, one of Spain’s most brilliant matadors, before he lost consciousness and died.
Only 21 years old, he had been enjoying a spectacular career. However, in this 1985 bullfight, Jose made a tragic mistake. He thrust his sword a final time into a bleeding, delirious bull, which then collapsed. Considering the struggle finished, Jose turned to the crowd to acknowledge the applause.
The bull, however, was not dead. It rose and lunged at the unsuspecting matador, its horn piercing his back and puncturing his heart.
Just when we think we’ve finished off pride, just when we turn to accept the congratulations of the crowd, pride stabs us in the back. We should never consider pride dead before we are.
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Version by Rev. Coy Wylie, Kerux Sermon #17440:
Craig Larson tells the story of Jose Cubero, one of Spain’s legendary matadors. He was only twenty-one years old and enjoying a spectacular career. However, on an ominous day in 1958 he made a fatal mistake. He thrust his sword a final time into a bleeding, delirious bull, which then collapsed. Cubero turned to acknowledge the adoring crowd, which rose to its feet in applause. He was so overcome by the thunderous ovation that he did not hear the bull as it rose to its feet, lunged at the young matador and plunged its horns through his back piercing his heart. In total shock, Cubero turned to his assistant and exclaimed, “Pali, this bull has killed me.” The lesson is: Pride always rises up to stab us in the back. We should never consider pride dead before we are.
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Version by Duane V. Maxey:
“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Romans 7:9)
“Pali, este toro me ha matado!” “Pali, this bull has killed me!” So saying to a friend, twenty-one year old Jose Cubero collapsed and died! Well known as “Yiyo” to Spanish bullfighting fans, just three months earlier, in May 1985, “he cut a splendid figure in his suit of lights in Madrid’s plaza de las ventas,” and seemed destined for greatness as a matador. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a tragic error ended his spectacular career!
At what proved to be his last bullfight, “after his final sword thrust he turned to the crowd, thinking the bull slain.” “But the animal rallied and lunged, piercing Yiyo through the heart.” (National Geographic, February 1986)
The animal revived, and he died! Paul said, “I was alive...once, but...sin revived, and I died.” The above victim of a revived, enraged brute lost his life, but when sin revives men often lose their souls!
There is a persistent myth in contemporary culture that Count Leo Tolstoy was a great Christian, and even a saint. This is palpably false. In fact, he was a self-righteous egoist who felt himself to be "God's older brother." Tolstoy once arrogantly penned these words in his diary:
"I have not yet met a single man who was morally as good as I. ...
I do not remember an instance in my life when I was not attracted
to what is good and was not ready to sacrifice anything to it."
This statement was repeatedly given the lie by his inveterate womanizing and neglect of his family.
Tolstoy's diary goes on to say that he felt in his soul "immeasurable grandeur." He was baffled by the failure of other men to recognize his qualities: "Why does nobody love me? I am not a fool, not deformed, not a bad man, not an ignoramus. It is incomprehensible."
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[from Paul Johnson, "Intellectuals," p. 107, note 2.]
Sermon on humility. Titus 3:1-5
DOORMATS FOR JESUS?
===================
I. Who wants to eat "Humble Pie"?
II. The Bible's perspective.
A. Humility has its foundation in the character of God.
B. Old Testament wisdom and prophets. Micah 8:6
C. Jesus is the ultimate example of humility.
III. What it means for Christians to be humble.
A. Jesus wants his followers to be meek and humble. Matt 5:3
B. Avoid false humility.
C. Be liberated by genuine humility.
IV. Myths about humility.
A. The humble look down on themselves and their abilities.
B. They let everyone walk all over them.
C. The humble do not strive for excellence.
D. The humble do not need praise.
V. How to hang humility.
A. Wealth and possessions.
B. Success and accomplishments.
C. Fame and prestige.
D. Physical beauty.
E. Piety and devotion.
VI. Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord.
A. God gives grace to the humble.
B. Make an honest assessment of yourself.
*
How to recognize and defeat the stealth sin.
Our lives become monuments of self reliance, universes from which God has been squeezed. Sure, we believe in Him. But actively rely on Him? Naah
1. Forgetting and Remembering. Deut 8:7-19, Hos 13:6, Ps 14:1, Ezek 28:2,
Gen 3:5
2. Lowly and Lofty
3. Come on down! Prov 8:13, 16:5, Amos 6:8, Gen 11:1-9, Isa 40:4
4. Pride Detectors. 2 Chron 26:16-20
a. Almost everything can become a source of pride - even good things.
b. Pride is never more than two inches away, even for the most godly.
c. Pride is generally invisible to those in its grip.
d. Here is how we recognize pride:
1. A spotty prayer life suggests I am not actively relying on God,
nor aware of my need for Him.
2. Weariness is often the result of trying to do more than God
intends, which means I am not letting Him order my day.
3. Anger can mean I an not trusting God's sovereign plan and timing,
and am try to take control from Him.
4. A critical spirit, the sorry act of bringing others down in order
to lift up myself, often points to an inflated sense of self.
5. A defensive reaction to criticism, despondency after failure, and
the inability to laugh at my mistakes all suggest that I am
taking myself too seriously and thinking myself too highly.
6. Taking responsibility for success, accomplishment, or financial
prosperity may mean I have lost sight of God's gracious and
undeserved provision.
7. Impatience about having to listen, wait, serve, be anonymous, or
be led by someone else all hint at an overdeveloped sense of
importance
5. Pride Busters.
a. Ask God it make you unimpresses by your successes, accomplishments,
and position.
b. Express to God a willingness to remain in humble, invisible positions
of service.
c. Take up residence in a biblical worldview.
d. Keep godly company.
e. Get in over your head in ministry ventures. Let God stretch you.
f. Spend time in the mountains or at the ocean.
g. Give away a lot of money.
h. Confess your pride to a trustworthy friend.
i. Keep mindful of your under - Godness. Put a note on your mirror or in
your Day-timer that says, "Look up" or "Seek His face."
j. Pray John Wesley's prayer every morning; "Let me be nothing and Christ
be all in all."
k. Persist in seeking God. Ask Him daily for His strength, wisdom,
provision, direction, peace and rest.
l. Don't do anything to make yourself appear better than you are, and
don't let people get away with building you up inappropriately.
m. Memorize. Isa 66:2, John 3:30, Jam 4:6, Rev 3:17-18.
n. Read. 2 Chronicles yearly.
o. Give it all back to Him every day - your success, wealth, home,
family, ministry - everything.
p. Receive compliments, but then pass them on to the Lord.
q. Worship daily.
r. Ask God daily to humble you.
6. Whose name matters most?
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[INSERT]
PRIDE'S BREEDING GROUND.
1. Wealth and Possessions. Ezek 28:5
2. Success and Accomplishment. 2 Chron 25:19
3. Fame and Prestige. 2 Chron 26:15-16
4. Physical Beauty. Ezek 28:17
5. Gifts and Abilities. Deut 8:17
6. Piety and Devotion. Luke 18:9-14
*
The fellow who blows his horn the loudest is usually in the biggest fog.
Nature never intended for us to pat ourselves on the back. If she had, our hinges would be different.
When a man brags that he wears the pants at home, the chances are his wife tells him which pants to put on.
"Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid."
-- Mark Twain
"Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far."
-- Will Rogers
The fellow who brags about how smart he is wouldn't if he was.
The only time you should blow your horn is when you're in the band.
A person interrupts and endangers his climb up the ladder of success when he stops to pat himself on the back.
The minute a man begins to feel his importance, his friends begin to doubt it.
"Intelligence is like a river, the deeper it flows the less noisy it makes."
-- Pulpit Helps, Jan. 1992, p. 16.
One time in an evangelistic crusade the evangelist stopped the invitation and asked for every Christian to witness to the person next to them. A small boy turned to the gentleman standing near him and said, "Mister, do you know Jesus as your personal Savior?"
Very condescendingly the man looked down at the little boy and replied, "Why son, I'm an ordained deacon."
With all the innocence in the world, the little boy replied, "Mister, it don't matter what you've done. God will save you anyway!"
(Bailey Smith, Real Evangelism, p. 117.)
It's ludicrous for any Christian to believe that he or she
is a worthy object of public worship; it would be like the donkey
carrying Jesus into Jerusalem believing the crowds were cheering
and laying down their garments for him.
Charles Colson
Kingdoms In Conflict
(p. 418, 1990)
TWO GAME COCKS were fiercely fighting for the mastery of the
farmyard. One at last put the other to flight. The vanquished Cock
skulked away and hid himself in a quiet corner, while the conqueror,
flying up to a high wall, flapped his wings and crowed exultingly with
all his might. An Eagle sailing through the air pounced upon him and
carried him off in his talons. The vanquished Cock immediately came
out of his corner, and ruled henceforth with undisputed mastery.
Such as pride destroyed the strong cock, so can pride destroy you!
A LAMP, soaked with too much oil and flaring brightly, boasted that it gave more light than the sun. Then a sudden puff of wind arose, and the Lamp was immediately extinguished. Its owner lit it again, and said: “Boast no more, but henceforth be content to give thy light in silence. Know that not even the stars need to be relit.”
Christians who serve the Lord must never become proud in their efforts or good deeds since the source of their Light comes from the Almighty God.
AT ONE TIME a very large and strong Wolf was born among the wolves, who exceeded all his fellow-wolves in strength, size, and swiftness, so that they unanimously decided to call him "Lion." The Wolf, with a lack of sense proportioned to his enormous size, thought that they gave him this name in earnest, and, leaving his own race, consorted exclusively with the lions. An old sly Fox, seeing this, said, "May I never make myself so ridiculous as you do in your pride and self-conceit; for even though you have the size of a lion among wolves, in a herd of lions you are definitely a wolf."
Christians need to realize that all their gifts and greatness comes from their Savior. Because of this, they should also realize that they are nothing or insignificant without their Savior.
A GNAT came and said to a Lion, "I do not in the least fear you, nor
are you stronger than I am. For in what does your strength consist?
You can scratch with your claws and bite with your teeth like a woman
in her quarrels. I repeat that I am altogether more powerful than
you; and if you doubt it, let us fight and see who will conquer." The
Gnat, having sounded his horn, fastened himself upon the Lion and
stung him on the nostrils and the parts of the face devoid of hair.
While trying to crush him, the Lion tore himself with his claws, until
he punished himself severely. The Gnat thus prevailed over the Lion,
and, buzzing about in a song of triumph, flew away. But shortly
afterwards he became entangled in the meshes of a cobweb and was eaten
by a spider. He greatly lamented his fate, saying, "Woe is me! that I,
who can wage war successfully with the hugest beasts, should perish
myself from this spider, the most inconsiderable of insects!"
If Christians become proud in their efforts or gifts, they can easily
be replaced by someone of less importance since God exalts the humble
but brings down the proud.
A HORSE, proud of his fine trappings, met an Ass on the highway. The
Ass, being heavily laden, moved slowly out of the way. "Hardly," said
the Horse, "can I resist kicking you with my heels." The Ass held his
peace, and made only a silent appeal to the justice of the gods. Not
long afterwards the Horse, having become broken-winded, was sent by
his owner to the farm. The Ass, seeing him drawing a dungcart, thus
derided him: "Where, O boaster, are now all thy gay trappings, thou
who are thyself reduced to the condition you so lately treated with
contempt?'
We should never let pride consume our souls lest God should humble and
withdraw His wondrous grace upon our lives.
Story of George Washington Carver.
"Lord, tell me about the universe!"
"The universe is too big for you. Why don't you let me take care of the universe."
"Well Lord, how about a peanut?"
"That's about your size. You study the peanut and I'll help you."
Before Carver was through he had discovered more than 300 peanut products to help mankind.
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Another version from Preaching Now:
In an article on “The Preacher as God's Steward,” James Earl Massey writes: “There is a story Dr. George Washington Carver used to tell about himself ... There was that day, he reported, when he had been meditating on life and nature. He moved from thought to prayer. He asked God, 'Mr. Creator [his way of addressing the Almighty], why did you make the universe?’ God responded to the query, but it was an admonition to ask for something more in keeping with what his mind might more readily grasp. So Carver revised his question, scaled it down, and asked God why He had made humans. He was told inwardly that he still wanted to know too much.
“Praying there in his laboratory with his eyes open -- his customary way -- Carver noticed some peanuts drying on a nearby shelf, and he asked God to tell him the purpose peanuts were created to serve. The Almighty seemed pleased, and told Carver that if he would busy himself to separate the peanut into its many elements, then he would learn much about its uses. So, using what he knew of chemistry and physics, Carver worked and separated the oils, gums, resins, sugars, starches, and acids found in the peanut. In separating the constituent elements of the peanut in this way, Carver was working on a problem and, over time, his 'solution' to the problem posed by the peanut uncovered or discovered or disclosed or invented new uses for the peanut -- 300 new uses, actually -- but the mystery of humans and the universe continued to haunt Carver's mind and spirit across the rest of his life. Dr. Carver rightly embraced the mystery of being human in this kind of world, aware that the mystery had embraced him!”
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Another version from Bits & Pieces:
God appoints us to places of service best suited to the talents He has given us. We are to develop our abilities and diligently use our God-given opportunities, no matter how small they may seem. If God wants to promote us, He'll do it in His own way and time.
American botanist George Washington Carver (1864-1943) said that he once asked God to tell him about the universe. According to Carver, the Lord replied, "George, the universe is just too big for you to understand. Suppose you let Me take care of that."
Humbled, Carver asked, "Lord, how about a peanut?" The Lord said, "Now, George, that's something your own size. Go to work on it and I'll help you." When Carver was done studying the peanut, he had discovered more than 300 products that could be made with that tiny bit of God's world.
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Another version from Gerald Rodgers:
George Washington Carver was not only one of America's greatest agriculturists and scientists, he was also the pioneer of the synthetics industry which has revolutionized life in this country and around the world. When he was old and bent with years, he shared with a group of students one day the story of his single most crucial undertaking-unlocking the mysteries of the simple peanut. He first cried out, "Oh, Mr. Creator, why did You make this universe?" "Then," he told the students who were listening intently, "the Creator answered me. 'You want to know too much for that little mind of yours,' He said, 'Ask me something more your size.' So I said, 'Dear Mr. Creator, tell me what man was made for.' Again He spoke to me, and He said, 'Little man, you are still asking for more than you can handle. Cut down the extent of your request and improve the intent.' And then I asked my last question. 'Mr. Creator, Why did You make the peanut?' 'That's better!' the Lord said, and He gave me a handful of peanuts and went with me back to the laboratory and together, we got down to work." The results of that conversation with God are history.
God wanted Dr. Carver to realize that his knowledge was only partial, and that his mind was not great enough to unravel all the mysteries of the universe, or even of man. He showed him that such a simple thing as a lowly peanut had enough potential within it to keep his brilliant mind well-occupied for a lifetime.
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Another version from Abe Kudra:
[Carver was a very gifted speaker. His most popular story was the following:]
I asked God, “Why did you make the universe, Lord?”
“Ask for something more in proportion to that little mind of yours,” replied God.
“Why did you make the earth, Lord?” I asked.
“Your little mind still wants to know far too much. Ask for something more in proportion to that little mind of yours,” replied God.
“Why did you make man, Lord?” I asked.
“Far too much. Far too much. Ask again,” replied God.
“Explain to me why you made plants, Lord,” I asked.
“Your little mind still wants to know far too much.”
“The peanut?” I asked meekly.
“Yes! For your modest proportions I will grant you the mystery of the peanut. Take it inside your laboratory and separate it into water, fats, oils, gums, resins, sugars, starches and amino acids. Then recombine these under my three laws of compatibility, temperature and pressure. Then you will know why I made the peanut.”
[And that was what George — highly skilled botanist and chemist — did.]
*
On May 1, 1991 two great milestones in baseball history happened on the same night. The first was Ricky Henderson's shattering of Lou Brock's record for stealing bases. When Henderson passed Brock's record of 939 by stealing 3rd base, he immediately pulled the bag up and held it over his head like some kind of trophy. Lou Brock was there so he could be present for the event. He congratulated Henderson, who then proclaimed, "Lou Brock was a great base-stealer, but today I am the greatest of all time." One major league player commented, "It made me want to puke."
On the same evening, hundreds of miles away, 44-year-old Nolan Ryan pitched his 7th career no-hitter. When the last batter was out on strikes, Ryan simply smiled and started making his way toward the catcher to congratulate him on a game well played--just like he always did after a win. Ryan was mobbed by teammates while the crowd cheered & Ryan looked almost embarrassed by the fuss. Who was the bigger person? Humility always wins out over pride!
Albert Schweitzer was once traveling by train. Some dignitaries came to meet him at station. 1st class unloaded ..... 2nd class unloaded ..... They turned to go, certain that he had missed the train. As 3rd class unloaded, off came Dr. Schweitzer. "Why were you riding 3rd class?" Reply: "Because there was no 4th class."
You can eat crow, have egg on your face or eat humble pie,
depending on how much pride you want to swallow. Whether
offered the figurative humble pie or the real dish, you may
want to think twice about asking for seconds.
In old England, the intestines of animals were known as
"umbles". After a hunt, the upper class would keep the meat
as their own and give the entrails to their servants. It
was traditional for the lower class folk to make a pie out
of the innards, and the "umble pie" became known as "humble
pie" because of their low position in life. The name stuck
as a way to describe any disagreeable or humiliating
situation.
The donkey awakened, his mind savoring something pleasant. He arched his neck, walked around with mincing steps. "That group of people," he said. "I'll go and show myself to them." They took no notice. "Throw your garments down," he said crossly. "Don't you know who I am?" They stared at him in amazement. Someone threw a stone. "Miserable infidels!" he muttered as he turned away in rage. "I'll go down to the market. Some good people are sure to be there." But it was the same. "The palm branches! Where are the palm branches?" he shouted. "Have you forgotten?" Dazed he returned to his mother. "Foolish child," she said gently. "Without him you can do nothing." (Eileen Lageer, "Palm Sunday,"
in His, student magazine of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, 1970)
Remember the Women's Olympic Figure Skating in February 1994? Like millions of other Americans I rooted for Nancy Kerrigan to take the gold. She didn't. No problem--she still did well--took the silver. Then the cameras caught her and the bronze medalist waiting for the awards ceremony. There was a hold-up while Oksalana Baiul, the gold medalist from the Ukraine, was getting makeup. Do you remember what Nancy Kerrigan said? "What's the big deal? She's just going to cry and mess it up again anyway!" I'll never see her as anything but an arrogant "prima donna."
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "Young man, the secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered I was not God." It may seem an Obvious truth, but one of the great human problems is that we get ourselves confused with God.
Just a Kid With Cerebral Palsy
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I was asked to be a counselor in a junior high camp. Everybody ought
to be a counselor in a junior high camp - just once. A junior high kid's
concept of a good time is picking on people. And in this particular case, at
this particular camp, there was s little boy who was suffering from cerebral
palsy. His name was Billy. And they picked on him.
Oh, they picked on him. As he walked across the camp with his
uncoordinated body they would line up and imitate his grotesque movements.
I watched him one day as he was asking for direction. "Which....way....
is...the...craft...shop?" he stammered, his mouth contorting. And the boys
mimicked in that same awful stammer, "It's.... over....there....
Billy." And then they laughed at him. I was irate.
But my furor reached its highest pitch when on Thursday morning it
was Billy's cabin's turn to give devotions. I wondered what would happen,
because they had appointed Billy to be the speaker. I knew that they just
wanted to get him up there to make fun of him. As he dragged his way to the
front, you could hear the giggles rolling over the crowd. It took little
Billy almost five minutes to say seven words.
"Jesus....loves....me....and....I....love....Jesus."
When he finished, there was dead silence. I looked over my shoulder
and saw junior high boys bawling all over the place. A revival broke out in
that camp after Billy's short testimony. And as I travel all over the world,
I find missionaries and preachers who say, "Remember me? I was converted at
that junior high camp." We counselors had tried everything to get those kids
interested in Jesus. We have even imported baseball players whose batting
averages had gone up since they had started praying. But God chose not to
use the superstars. He chose a kid with cerebral palsy to break the spirits
of the haughty. He's that kind of God.
by Tony Campolo
Hubris. Do you know this word? It comes from Greek mythology. There, it was a sure way to anger the gods. You see, hubris is a prideful overstepping of your bounds, of not knowing your place. Displaying hubris was the quickest way to feel the heat of Zeus' thunderbolt.
Hubris isn't just for the ancient Greeks, though. We have plenty of it today. One contemporary kind is the hubris of the independent. The hubris of the independent is to not realize that it is our nature as humans to be dependent. We do not create ourselves. We are not self-made. We have spiritual, emotional, and physical needs that we cannot meet within ourselves. We must look to others and depend on them to help meet our needs. Independence is not a viable option, thus neither is pride. It is hubris to think otherwise.
But in recognizing our dependence our work is not done, for we still have the question: on what do we depend? This is where the real spiritual work must occur in our lives. Ask yourself, “In my daily experience do I depend on God and His character to uphold me and see me through?” This is the first and most important spiritual question concerning dependence.
But what does it mean to depend on God, to trust in Him? The trust that we have in relationships with other humans is instructive on this question, for we are of one relational cloth. We relate to God in the same way that we relate to other persons. The person we are relating to is different (i.e., God is infinite, humans are finite), but the manner of our relating is the same. We trust a loved one the same way we are to trust God. This is why our human relations are so important for our ability to relate to God.
Depending on God is not some otherworldly spiritual state. God desires the same trust you give to your husband or your mother or your friend. We only have one way to trust, and that is to open ourselves up and reach out for the other person, expecting him to meet us. You do this when you schedule a lunch with a friend, and you arrive first and expectantly await him. You trust he will keep his promise and come. God desires the same trust: a faithful expectation of Him to keep His promises. Remaining in this outward looking attitude throughout your day is trusting God. This is correct human dependence.
____________
Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5574]
A certain rich man who decided to take up fishing bought the most
expensive equipment and bait, but he caught nothing. He passed by a
farm boy who had an old stick and a rusty hook but had caught a big
string of fish. "How did you manage to catch so many, when I couldn't
catch a single one?" he asked.
"Oh," said the boy, "I try to keep out of sight so the fish won't
see me. But I think you show yourself to them too much."
- PULPIT HELPS, July, 1991
As the ant and the elephant walked across the hanging bridge, the ant
remarked to the elephant, "Boy, don't we make this bridge shake!"
A man had just had his annual physical exam and was waiting for the doctor's initial report. After a few minutes the doctor came in with his charts in his hand and said: "There's no reason why you can't live a completely normal life as long as you don't try to enjoy it."
I love the story of the man who went to his doctor. The doctor told him, "I'm sure I have the answer to your problem." The man answered, "I certainly hope so, doctor. I should have come to you long ago."
The doctor asked, "Where did you go before?"
"I went to the pharmacist."
The doctor snidely remarked, "What kind of foolish advice did he give you?"
"He told me to come to see you!"
A little boy came to his mother, saying, “Mamma, I am as tall as Goliath; I am nine feet high.” “What makes you say that?” asked the surprised mother. “Well, I made a little ruler of my own and measured myself with it, and I am just nine feet high!” There are many people who follow the little boy’s method, measuring themselves by some rule of their own.
Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations, p. 515
Two ladies at Shanghai once got to talking about Hudson Taylor, wondering if he was ever tempted to be proud. One of the ladies went and asked Mrs. Taylor. She did not know. But Mrs. Taylor went and
asked Mr. Taylor. He was surprised and inquired, 'Proud about what?' Mrs. Taylor replied, 'Why, about the things you have done.'
Then immediately came this beautiful answer, 'I never knew I had done anything.' And Mr. Taylor was right; he never had done anything, for it was God who had wrought in and through him.
The unsanctified life can clearly distinguished from the sanctified by
this characteristic. Are you craving recognition? Are you proud of your past, your family connections, your name, your reputation, your achievements in life? If so, then you need the cleansing of the sanctifier to rid you of the corruption of carnality.
While pastoring is
Eastern KS., I (Sam Lindahl)met a young lady who would send notes to me, through others in the church, that she wanted to sing
special songs. I questioned her about her spiritual condition as a requisite
for singing. She replied in a hostile voice, "No, I'm not saved!" At this
her grandmother was very shocked, and began to argue with her that "she
was too saved." Pride will cause people to misunderstand the purpose and power
of worship. We humans "look on the outside but God looks on the heart."
The year was 1942. The
store was Sakowitz in Houston. The woman walked in ... still in her work clothes. She'd been working at the Brown Root
Shipyards... building liberty ships. "I want to buy a $50 hat," she
said. "We have a lot of nice hats," the clerk said. "Let's see if we can
get one that you like and that looks good on you." The clerk put a hat on the
woman and she said, "That's perfect. Don't you like it?" "It's terrific,"
she said, "Is this a $50 hat?" "No," the clerk said, "that's a $25 hat." "I told you I want a $50 hat!" the woman said. The clerk looked quit frantically to find a $50 hat in the year 1942
in a department store. She finally found one... and put it on the
customer. It looked perfectly terrible. "How much does this cost?" the woman
asked. "Fifty dollars," the clerk said. "I'll take it."
In 1931 Joseph Stalin, the absolute ruler of Communist Russia, decided to construct a building that reflected his greatness. The Palace of Soviets would be the tallest structure in the world, 25 feet taller than the Empire State Building. The bottom would be a combination White House and Congress hall and the top would hold a 6,000-ton statue of Lenin raising his arm over the city.
The prime location in downtown Moscow was already occupied by a magnificent old church but that was no problem. They blew it up. It took one year to remove all the rubble. Construction then began on the communist Palace.
As they began construction, the builders discovered a slight problem - they were building on swampland. The unstable soil could not support such massive weight and at a certain point the tall building was sure to topple over. They all knew how Stalin viewed failure....
While they frantically tried to figure out what to do, the Nazis invaded. The steel superstructure was dismantled and used for military defenses. A big hole was left and it became something of an embarrassment, so in 1958 they turned it into a swimming pool. It was the largest outdoor swimming pool in the world, of course. Eventually even that was abandoned.
In 1995 a new building was erected at the spot. Then again, you might say it was an old building. The newly-liberated Russian Orthodox Church spent hundreds of millions to rebuild the Cathedral of Christ the Savior that Stalin had dynamited. They made it exactly like the original. It just goes to show you can fight God, but you can’t win.
________
Information drawn from "Church of Christ the Savior [Khram Khrista Spasitelia]," edited by Kevin Moss at Middlebury College, http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/russian/Bulgakov/public_html/xram.html
*
[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #1863]
I once heard about a lady who came to her pastor with a theological
question about heaven. "Pastor, I don't know how I'm going to get my
robe on over my wings without bending them." Her pastor replied, "If
I were you I wouldn't worry about that. I'd worry about how you are
going to get your halo on over your horns."
- Mike Minnix
A BULL was bitten by a Mouse and, angered by the wound, tried to
capture him. But the Mouse reached his hole in safety. Though the
Bull dug into the walls with his horns, he tired before he could rout
out the Mouse, and crouching down, went to sleep outside the hole.
The Mouse peeped out, crept furtively up his flank, and again biting
him, retreated to his hole. The Bull rising up, and not knowing what
to do, was sadly perplexed. At which the Mouse said, "The great do
not always prevail. There are times when the small and lowly are the
strongest and are able to prevail!"
Blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God. Yes,
in the end, the humble and low shall be exalted while the mighty and
the proud shall be brought down.
ROAMING BY the mountainside at sundown, a Wolf saw his own shadow
become greatly extended and magnified, and he said to himself, "Why
should I, being of such an immense size and extending nearly an acre
in length, be afraid of the Lion? Ought I not to be acknowledged as
King of all the collected beasts?' While he was indulging in these
proud thoughts, a Lion fell upon him and killed him. He exclaimed
with a too late repentance, "Wretched me! this overestimation of
myself is the cause of my destruction."
Christians should never take pride in their own gifts and talents
since they all come from God.
Albert Einstein once said, regarding pride of accomplishment: "The
only way to escape the personal corruption of praise is to go on
working. One is tempted to stop and listen to it. The only thing is
to turn away and go on working. Work. There is nothing else."
A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only
passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and
said that the plane was going down but there were only three
parachutes and four people. The pilot added, "I should have one of
the parachutes because I have a wife and three small children." So he
took one and jumped.
The computer whiz said, "I should have one of the parachutes
because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me." So
he took one and jumped.
The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, You
are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining
parachute, an I'll go down with the plane."
The Boy Scout said, "Relaz, Reverend, the smartest man in the world
just picked up my knapsack and jumped out!"
Many Christians have wrongly concluded that sexual sins are the worst kind of sin. But that is not true. Sexual sins are not the worst kind of sins. C.S. Lewis has caught this fact very accurately. In his book "Mere Christianity" (New York: Macmillan, 1986), Lewis says:
If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme
vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they
are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are
purely spiritual. The pleasure of putting other people in the
wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and
backbitting, the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are
two things inside me competing with the human self which I must
try to become; they are the animal self, and the diabolical self;
and the diabolical self is the worst of the two. That is why a
cold, self-righteous prig, who goes regularly to church may be
far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it's
better to be neither.
A salesman called at the country variety store on his monthly sales visit. "Where's the boss?" he asked of a gangling boy, upon whose upper lip a little "goose down" was putting in its appearance. Squawked the boy, "The boss ain't in. I'm the whole cheese!" Eyeing the boy with deserved disdain, the salesman said, "Boy, when the boss comes in, tell him he is about out of cheese!" Beware of inflating pride.
--W. B. Knight
Humorous incidents happen even on the mission field. In an African village a native Christian went to the village merchant to purchase a pair of shoes. He was fitted out with a suitable pair, and went away happy. Some weeks later he brought the shoes back.
"Did they not fit? They were good, weren't they?" asked the merchant.
"Yes."
"Then why are you returning them?"
"Because they don't have any squeak."
It appeared that 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. That type of Christian is as old as the church.
-- Christian Union Herald
"He is impossible to get along with, because he thinks he's
impossible to get along without," was said of a Sunday school worker.
No wonder the result was a dismal failure for the would-be
indispensable. The worst idea a Christian can have is that he is
absolutely necessary to the work in which he is engaged, that his
absence would stop the whole undertaking. --Sunday At Home
During the American Revolution, it is said that an officer not
wearing his military uniform was passing by where a small company of
soldiers were at work making some repairs on a small fortification.
The leader of the little squad was giving orders to those who were
under him relative to a timber which they were endeavoring to raise to
the top of the works. The timber went up hard, and on this account the
voice of their little leader was the oftener heard in his regular
vociferations of "Heave away! There she goes! Heave ho!
The officer before spoken of stopped his horse when he came to the
place, and seeing the timber some times scarcely move, asked the the
squad leader why he did not take hold and render a little aid. The
latter appeared to be somewhat astonished, and turning to the officer
with the pomp of an emperor, said "Sir, I am a corporal! You are not
though, are you?" said the pompous little corporal." "I was not aware
of that," said the out-of-uniform officer, taking off his hat and
bowing, I ask your pardon, Mr. Corporal!" Upon this, the officer
dismounted from his elegant steed, flung the bridle over a post, and
helped the laboring soldiers lift the timber till the sweat stood in
drops upon his forehead.
When the timber was elevated to its proper station, turning to the
proud little squad leader, the officer said: "Mr. Corporal Commander,
when you have another such job and have not men enough, send to your
Commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you a second time." The
corporal was thunderstruck. The out-of-uniform officer was General
George Washington. --Paxton Hood
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