Rev. Patrick Vincent
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness.” – 1 Cor.3:18-19
The older I get, the more I realize just how little I know.
“And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” – 1 Cor. 8:2
Humbling verses!
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble is wisdom.“ – Prov. 11:2
Ever notice that in the dubious list of Seven Deadly Sins, Pride is always listed first. Of course it is. Pride would be proud of that.
Derived in a roundabout way from Prov. 6:16-19, the sins are: pride, envy, wrath, gluttony, lust, sloth, and greed.
The Canterbury Tales says pride is the root of all the others, the general root of all harms, and the trunk from which other sins branch.
I would say that Pride is the gateway sin leading eventually to all the others. No sin stands alone, rather – they are all intertwined. Pride, though, would be the mother of them all.
Pride is “an inordinate self-esteem.” Synonyms like vanity, conceit, arrogance, cockiness, know-it-all, and puffed up come to mind.
I have always struggled with pride and the selfish tendency to make it “all about me.” My wife has helped me greatly with this inclination over the years. When we first met, I wasn’t even aware I was doing this until she pointed out. I had the terrible habit of steering every conversation back to myself or only talking about my interests. Is it not annoying to be around someone who cannot start a conversation without using “I”? Well, sorry – that was me. And I still fight that urge.
At its root, it is self-worship. It is also insensitive to others around me; it signals that they are not as important as me or my life.
Reflecting upon the cure, I am indebted to God’s Grace on my pride.
First, God has given me the perfect help meet: my wife. God has provided a partner for me that is not afraid to point out flaws in order to help me objectively look at myself. This has both been helpful and… painful.
My wife’s honesty to make me really look in the mirror and see where the logs lie has been a great blessing in my life.
Pride leads to loneliness. As self-worship, Pride is filling our hearts with ourselves. If we fill our hearts with ourselves, then there is no room for anyone or anything else and thereby, we become more and more alone.
This could be anyone’s future who does not confront Pride before it is too late: relationships will atrophy.
Secondly, God’s grace on my pride has been to lead me to Scripture. Passages such as Gal. 6:3-4 or Prov. 11:2, 21:4 have served me well. God’s word is truly that which can cut to the heart. It is the scalpel God uses to remove the cancer.
I am forever indebted and wedded to God’s wondrous Scripture.
Lastly, the love of God is primary for me in this issue of my sinful nature. Without the love of God, I would not be able to even see this fatal flaw, let alone extract it from my life. God’s continual forgiveness, long-suffering, and patience with this chief sinner has been something that has tremendously humbled me.
God’s love is also the gold standard for me to emulate in my ministry and personal life. It is my duty and great honor to represent my King. How could I properly do that without exhibiting His same manner of love?
I want to end with balancing the Seven Deadly Sins with a second, more righteous list: the Seven Cardinal Virtues; wisdom, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, and love.
I refuse to be an instrument for the Devil and to allow him to use my unresolved pride against myself, my family, or my ministry.
If someone asked you how to get to Heaven, you’d probably say “by grace through faith in Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9),” right? So why did Jesus give the Law to the rich young ruler when he asked the same question (Mark 10:17-22)?
This passage used to scare me. Will I have to sell all my stuff and give it to the poor?
No, no – that’s not the point.
The point is Jesus was exposing where the young ruler put his faith and it was IN HIS ABILITY TO KEEP THE LAW. (The Law THEN was the 10 commandments, NOW is any human effort or religious tradition). He thought rule-keeping was his ticket. His faith was in himself.
I’m not rich, young, or a ruler – but I identify with this guy, don’t you? Self-righteous, works-based faith is a constant struggle. What would Jesus say to me? “Throw away your device and follow Me.” Abraham was asked to give up Isaac (Gen. 22). What would He say to you?
The Law cannot save (Gal. 4:21). It’s not faith-worthy. It’s a ministry of death bringing God’s wrath ( 2 Cor. 3:7 & Rom. 4:15). Likewise today, putting your faith in your works, only brings God’s wrath. The Law is there to reveal our sin and point us to Jesus (Rom. 6:14). Like a mirror: it reflects you (warts & all), but cannot clean you. No one uses the mirror to clean their face. The mirror just shows you how dirty you are (Rom. 3:20). The Law crushes self-reliance, it is not a reason for it.
Mark 10:21 is a tender moment: Jesus looks at the young ruler and loves him. He’s trying to take him from Sinai to Calvary. He does the same for us. He knows us the best and loves us the most. After all, we’re all little Prodigals and Pharisees.
The young ruler boasted in keeping “all” the Law, so Jesus showed how he had missed the FIRST ONE! (Exd. 20:3) He placed his possessions before God. Look, if you rely on human effort, there will always be cracks (Gal. 3:10). Like a chain holding you over a fire; remove just one link and it all falls apart (James 2:10). Anything you make into a Law and then use to condemn others – will be used to condemn you.
“Everything that isn’t gospel is law. If its not rooted in the good news of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding , Pharisee-producing law. We’ll get either shallow self-righteousness or blazing rebellion or both.” – Elyse M. Fitzpatrick, Give Them Grace
This passage doesn’t scare me anymore. I am not under the Law. It is obsolete (Heb. 8:13). I am under GRACE (Rom. 8:2). Relying on tradition & religious rituals makes Jesus of no effect (Mark 7:13). It blinds us with a veil that only Jesus can remove (2 Cor. 3:14-16). Jesus came to set us free from this nonsense (Gal. 5:1).
Luke’s account says when the young ruler left, Jesus was saddened (18:24). Jesus didn’t force anything. It was his choice. Jesus loves us enough to let us reject Him. However, if we do, it grieves Him.
Please don’t make the same mistake as the rich young ruler. Put your faith totally in Jesus today.
Insights from Proverbs 6 for the 6th:
Verses 16-19 is where we get the “7 Deadly Sins” (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, & Sloth). Although that exact phrase is not specifically used (it was actually coined by a 4th Century monk) and those specific sins are not exactly listed, here is where the basic idea comes from.
There are 6 things the Lord hates, 7 that He detests:
“Detests” is a pretty serious word choice: He abhors them. What do you think? Maybe write these down and avoid them.
Solomon bookends these abominations with warnings against Folly & even more warnings against Adultery: these are 2 recurring snares when it comes to humanity. Could it be that he’s trying to tell us something?
He gives some absurd examples: If you put flames on your lap, don’t be surprised when your pants are on fire. If you walk across hot coals, don’t be surprised when your feet get scorched. The same goes with sleeping with another’s spouse; there are going to be consequences and they are going to hurt.
Jealousy makes everyone crazy. When they find out about the affair: they’re gonna flip out. Nothing will stop them.
Common sense, right? Solomon says the one who commits adultery has no sense.
I’ve heard the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce. The most common reason is infidelity. I’m not sure if that stat is true, but I do know that this is true: marriage is under attack! The enemy wants us to believe that marriage isn’t important, its not sacred, and we don’t need to be good stewards of the family God has entrusted to us.
The opposite is actually true! Husbands, keep your marriage sacred! Protect it! Be ever-diligent!
The enemy is setting specially-designed traps just for you and me.
If this blessed you, please Like & Share!
Ref: http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/what-are-seven-deadly-sins
What if you had a bright-green glob of spinach stuck right in the middle of your two front teeth? Then you went the whole day and no one told you. Wouldn’t you wonder, with all the people you came into contact with that day, why no one told you?!
If someone did tell you, it would probably be embarrassing at first. It might even make you feel stupid. However, later on, you would thank them. Right?
If no one told me, I would think that the whole day, people were actually ignoring it. They had to have been distracted by this giant glaring piece of vegetable lodged in my teeth! Oh, you know they saw it, right? I mean, there’s no mistaking it!
Well, it takes guts to tell someone there is something stuck in their teeth. The whole time you’re thinking, “Should I tell them? Nah, it’s not that bad. Maybe someone else will tell them. Maybe it will become loose and just fall out on its own. How do they not know? Look at it! Wow, its huge!… Great, too much time has gone by and it would look weird if I mentioned it now. Ok, this is making me uncomfortable. WAIT! Maybe I’ve got something in MY teeth! AHHHH!”
If I did tell you had spinach in your teeth, how would you respond?
“MY TEETH? Look at YOUR TEETH! You think YOUR TEETH are so clean? They are just as bad as mine! Not to mention your breath! I’ve been meaning to tell you: Your breath is pretty rank, buddy. Why don’t you use some mouthwash? THEN come back and tell me about MY terrible spinach infestation!”
Of course not. You and I are not like that, are we? We would thank that person and get that dastardly spinach out of our teeth right then and there and FOREVER! Right?
I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. Pride is a funny thing. It can topple even the strongest person. It can blind even the brightest of people. We have to fill ourselves with the Holy Word of God and align our steps with His only Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. That’s the only way any of us even have a chance.
And if someone loves you enough to tell you that you have spinach in your teeth? Thank them. Thank them for being so brave and honest.
God Bless!
#BearOneAnothersBurdens
Ref: Galatians 6:1
Anyone remember Uzziah?
2 Chronilces 26. Wow, what an astonishing chapter!
Uzziah was only 16 years old when he was made king of Judah. Imagine following a 16 year old king into battle! Yet, under his 52-year rule the kingdom saw a rebirth that hadn’t happened since Solomon. His fame grew. They knew his name in Egypt. His power grew. All because he “did that which was right in the sight of The Lord” and because he “was greatly helped.”
“Greatly helped.” I love that phrase. Aren’t we all? Without the help of The Lord, what could any of us accomplish?
Let me give you the Uzziah highlight reel:
He went out and “made war with the Philistines.” He didn’t just react to a people that hated God, he picked a fight with them! He build tower after tower after tower. He designed sheilds, helmets and body armor. It says “he made engines of war.” Terminators? Robocops? I don’t know, but whatever it was, it crushed his enemies. He was a skilled farmer and “loved the soil.” This was an incredible man!
It says Uzziah was “marvelously helped…”
It would be great if the story ended there, unfortunatley, it does not.
It says Uzziah was “marvelously helped… until he was strong. For when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly and was unfaithful to The Lord, his God.”
Uzziah entered the temple and tried to burn the incense only the priests were supposed to burn. You see, you cannot do everything yourself. Some things are meant to be done by others. The priest (shockingly) stood up to Uzziah (of course he did have 80 other priests back him up). Azariah the priest said, “It is not for you to do this.” Uzziah could’ve have said, “You are right. I am sorry. Forgive me, Lord!” and oh, what a king that would’ve been. But instead scripture says Uzziah “was enraged.” Immediatley, he was struck with leprosy. He was therefore forced to live the rest of his days seperated from everyone and his rule went to his son, Jotham.
Pride. Anger. My mom would say he “got too big for his britches.” Uzziah is the king of If Only. If only he would have done this. If only he would have done that. Try your hardest to not be an If Only kind of person!
When we think things are going great and it’s because of all OUR hard work, then we need to step back and say: Forgive me Lord, all the glory goes to You for without You, I can do nothing. What was I thinking Lord? You are everything!
Be Uzziah in the sense that through a humble servant God can accomplish marvelous works. Do not be Uzziah in the sense that remember who it is that’s really in charge.
Never forget that we are all “greatly helped.” And thank God for that!
Sorry this got a little long in the tooth. This message was gleaned from Matt Chandler’s message @ theresurgence.com
God bless!
