Thursday, May 18, 2006

Love is not Arrogant: Part 5

Deflating Arrogance
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
The first step in eliminating arrogance from our lives is to begin to think of others first. This does not come naturally but takes practice. We must ask the Holy Spirit to show us when we have become self-focused and to help up to considers others as more important that ourselves. We must become aware of the needs and wants of those around us. “What is it that my wife needs the most?” “What are the things that my children are most concerned about?” Paul says that the Body of Christ is so constructed that we might “have the same care for one another.” (1 Corinthians 12:25) The Greek word for “care” can also be translated “distraction”. We need to be distracted with the needs of others instead of being totally absorbed with our own needs.
“Listen and give heed, do not be haughty, for the Lord has spoken.” (Jeremiah 13:15)
We need to accept the fact that the Word of God is not just to be read but also to be obeyed. It is not enough to listen to God’s Word but we must also “give heed” to His word; to let it effect us and bring change into our lives. We must conform our lives to His Word not His Word to our lives. It was said of Ezra that he, “set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10) The heart of Ezra was not just to know the Law of God but also to practice and obey it. The stronghold of arrogance is loosened when we begin to believe that the Word of God has something to say to us and allow it to teach and change us.
“My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” (Psalm 131:1 NIV)
It is humbling to consider that there are matters and things that are too wonderful, too profound, and too high for us to comprehend. The hot air of arrogance is deflated when we are humble enough to admit that we don’t know everything. We don’t always have to have an answer. We don’t always have to be able to figure it out. Some things are too great for us to know, and that’s OK. There are problems in this world that we cannot solve by our own wisdom, knowledge, and thoughts. How much time I have wasted debating the solutions to life’s problems with others when, in truth, I really didn’t have a clue? Sometime, the most appropriate response to life’s problems is not to become concerned with trying to understand them but rather to humble ourselves in prayer over them.
“Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” (Romans 12:16)
Arrogance isolates us from others; we are the superior and they are the inferior. The real deception of arrogance is that we think we are better than others when, in truth, we are no different; we are all sinners for whom Christ died to save. One of strongest weapons against arrogance is to form vital relationships with other believers in the Body of Christ, especially with those who are different from us. When we learn to live in fellowship we begin to understand that we are but a part of the body, not the whole body, and that we are in need of each other. Paul reminds us, “But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; or again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’” (1 Corinthians 12:20-21) We need others and others need us and the sooner we learn this the sooner we will find freedom from arrogance.

David Robison

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