By David ReayFriday 30 Sep 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. (NLT)
There are those in life with inflated views of their own importance, who strut around as if they are king of the castle. Others are merely tools to be used for their own advancement. Having lots of followers on social media, lots of wealth, lots of power…these are what matter.
So, we might safely say such people are in no way humble. Then again, there is a more subtle sort of pride. Those who say they are mere worthless worms writhing in the dust. It is almost as if they are boasting in their self-loathing. If others are bad, then they are even worse.
All such self-absorption is a sort of self-centredness. The one who boasts of their importance is fixated on that, whereas the one who laments their worthlessness is likewise fixated. And more seriously, each leaves God out of the picture.
Humility before God is not about assuming we are the centre of the universe. Nor is it about believing we are of no value. As has been said, humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less. Humility recognises our true status before God.
Corrupt enough to have him invite Jesus to rescue us from our rebellion against him. Valuable enough to think we were worth the trouble.
Blessings,
David