This past Sunday, I bought Humility: True Grateness by C.J. Mahaney and Pierced by the Word by John Piper. I was pretty excited about getting them. Monday, I started reading Humility, and today I read the 3rd chapter and it's been very humbling. C.J. Mahaney is my favorite auther, I love the way he writes.
I struggle with pride more than anything else. A few weeks ago I posted a post called "Identified in Christ", talking about how I find joy in being known as something other than being found in Christ. In chapter 2 he say "The real issue here is not if pride exists in your heart; it's where pride exists and how pride is being expressed in your life. Scripture shows us that pride is strongly and dangerously rooted in all our lives, far more than most of us care to admit or even thing about." Pride is in us all, John Stott says "Pride... it is itself the essence of all sin". That is something to think about, and very true. Think about it, if you lie, pride is the root of it because you don't want who ever you are lying to to know what every you know.
He also gave another quote from John Stott. "At every stage of our Christian development and in every sphere of our Christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend." At every stage. Some are more mature in this area than others, but humility is something that you are always maturing in. Mahaney gives the definition of humility, "Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." Later he goes on to say, " But though He's aware of everything, He's also searching for something in particular, something that acts like a magnet to capture His attention and invite His active involvement. God is decisively drawn to humility. The person who is humble is the one who draws God's attention, and in this sence, drawing His attention means also attracting His grace-- His unmerited kindness. Think about that: There's something you can do to attract more of God's gracious, undeserved, supernatural strength and assistance!" Wow! What a thought! In chaper 1 he says "humility draws the gaze of our Sovereign God". Scripture even says it, like James 4:6 "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." His grace is an amazing thing!
"Why does God hate pride so passionately?" C.J. asks, "Here's why: Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him. Charles Bridges once noted how pride lifts up one's heart against God and "contends for supremacy" with Him. That's a keenly insightful and biblical definition of pride's essence: contending for supremacy with God, and lifting up our hearts against Him." The next page he goes on to say "Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride -- to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in affect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride. Let that truth sink into your thinking."
I can totally relate. I played basketball for 5 years. My junior and last year playing was my best year. I was starting point guard, voted team captain, and very prideful. I loved to tell people what I did, just to get their response and most of the time they asked questions about how good I was, and I loved to share. And there is nothing wrong with me telling people I played basketball, because that was what I was into and did, but it was the matter of the heart for me. I looooooved being known as "the basketball girl". But I was robbing God of glory. I really wish I would have read this book back then.
C.J. gives the scripture Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Then he continues with, "The warnings from Scripture about pride could not be more serious and sobering. And they're an expresion of God's mercy, intended for our good." Issues came up, and I was not able to play my senior year, which was always something I dreamed of. Pride comes before the fall. You always here that saying, and pay no attention to it (atleast I did). But I experienced it. This was an "expresion of God's mercy", I see that now. And how thankful I am for it looking back.
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