Modeling Christ-Likeness

Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Cor 11:1)

I used to think it was arrogant of Paul to tell people to follow his example, as though he were perfect! But I realize now Paul was not claiming to be perfectly Christ-like. When he says “as” he is really saying “to the same degree.” Even so, I would never say what Paul said because I know my life is far from resembling the life of Christ. There are whole new levels of obedience to God beyond my personal experience – levels I’m sure Paul had walked in. And when I think about that, I realize the problem here is not Paul’s arrogance but my disobedience. If I presume to lead others, if I presume to teach, should I not be able to say, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ?” Lord, forgive me for my casual disobedience. There is so much at stake here. I hinder others from seeing you when I fail to follow your example. Teach me to be a faithful disciple like Paul. Amen.

Scholar's Snare

The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God. (1 Cor 8:2-3)

I sometimes hear Bible teachers who sound like they have it all figured out. They teach their interpretations as fact and it seems there is nothing in the Bible that puzzles them. Pride is a snare for these men. You can hear their pride in the way they speak of other interpretations and those who teach them. As a teacher and a discipler of others I want always to stay humble. I must remember that the Bible is infallible but none of its interpreters are – including me.

There is another snare in this focus on learning. It is that learning about God may become a substitute for loving God. Too much focus on the life of mind may drive out the desires of the heart. My passion must always be for God, and not for any idea or doctrine. I want to know him better, love him more, and follow more closely in his footsteps. When we love God, what we need to know will be made clear to us – which may be a whole lot less than what we’d like to know. When we love God we will find ourselves loving others. This is the life to which we are called. Not a sterile academic perfection but the gospel lived out in sacrificial love. Lord, forgive me for those times when I have been more concerned with being right than with being good. Teach me humility and compassion. Amen.

Our Neighbor's Gods

Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not swear to them or bow down to them. (Josh 23:7)

It is interesting to me that God left many of the Canaanite inhabitants in place after the conquest of Canaan. He knew these people and their religions would be a snare to the Israelites. It is as though it were important that the Israelites be tested, even though God knew that they would fail. Why did they fail? The simple fact is that in 1400 BC there was something very appealing about the Canaanite religions. I suppose in that day people must have pitied you or laughed at you if you had only one god. The Israelites must have been jealous of the idols and the temples and the orgies.

It seems hard to imagine the appeal of the old Canaanite gods, but today our neighbors worship new gods, and we are drawn to them as of old. They worship the entertainment gods, the politics gods and the money gods. They also have the sports gods, the science gods and the society gods. The appeal is strong, as is the desire not to seem different or foolish. Like the Israelites, we are being tested. “Choose this day whom you will serve! But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:15)

The Nobles of Tekoa

The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors. (Neh 3:5)

Under the leadership of Nehemiah, the people of Jerusalem repaired the city wall, which had lain in ruins for over a hundred and fifty years. It was a huge undertaking, but they completed it in only 52 days. This entire chapter of Nehemiah is devoted to recording all the people who helped, and what section they rebuilt. Goldsmiths, perfume-makers, merchants and Levites – they all helped build the wall. Well, almost everyone. In the whole chapter, only one group refused to help: the “nobles” of Tekoa. How foolish they must have looked! Tekoa wasn’t much of a town and, at this time, Judah wasn’t much of a country, but the proud “nobles” of Tekoa held themselves aloof. Was it that they considered manual labor to be beneath them, or could they not stand to take orders from someone else? Meanwhile, the men of Tekoa, perhaps embarrassed by the leading citizens of their town, actually repaired two sections of the wall (v27), the only group to do so.

Are there menial tasks that I would be unwilling to do for the sake of God’s Kingdom? Would I empty a bedpan or dig a ditch? I suppose I would try to weasel out by spiritualizing it. “Oh, that’s not my gift.” But Lord, I don’t want to be like the nobles of Tekoa. I am willing to do whatever needs to be done for your Kingdom. Convict me when foolish pride, or sheer laziness, causes me to shrink back from the task you have set before me. Amen.

Let It Go

It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. (Pro 20:3)

How ironic that when a prideful man is quick to quarrel with a perceived insult, he does more damage to his honor than if he had graciously overlooked the slight.

The Arrogance of Man

The arrogance of man will be brought low and the pride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. (Is 2:17)

All the things man prides himself in, his lofty towers (v15) and stately vessels (v16), will count for nothing in the Day of the Lord. Today we have wealth and power unimaginable in the days of Isaiah, but it will still count for nothing. As our power has increased so has our pride. This is a special temptation for Americans, I think. It is easy for gratitude for our blessings to slip into pride in our wealth and power. They had their towers and their stately vessels; we have our skyscrapers and our aircraft carriers. But God says:

Men will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty when he rises to shake the earth. (v19)

And so we must trust only in God:

Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? (v22)

Wise in Your Own Eyes

Do not be wise in your own eyes. (Pro 3:7a)

What causes a man to be wise in his own eyes? Pride. This pride takes two forms. First, intellectual pride, which happens when I start to think I’m pretty smart and have life all figured out. Second, spiritual pride, when I begin to imagine that my faith is strong and my walk is pure. Pride will always trip us up. (Pro 16:18) The antidote to pride is to keep my eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. The very phrase “wise in his own eyes” implies taking our focus off God and putting it on ourselves. I need to keep my eyes on Jesus to remind me who I have to thank for my gifts and abilities and to remind me how far I have yet to go to become like him.

Rejoicing for Others

The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. (Acts 15:3)

Have you ever received a gift, an award, or a compliment, and then been upset to learn that someone else received the same thing? Did it upset you more if it was someone you didn’t like? I sure have. It seemed to cheapen it somehow, especially if I thought they didn’t deserve it. That’s pride talking. It is nothing but the desire to exalt myself above others. The Jews had spent 2000 years thinking they were better than the Gentiles, because they were chosen by God. It would have been very easy for these Jewish Christians to resent the new Gentile Christians. But the Bible says they were very glad. Lord, help me to never entertain the idea that there are some people who don’t deserve salvation, because that’s not true – NONE of us deserve salvation. Convict me, Lord, when I feel resentment about something good that happens to someone else. Remind me that I am to love them, and should rejoice when you bless them.

Blinded by Pride

For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. (Ps 36:2)

How many of us know someone like that? Someone whose pride blinds them to their own flaws? C.S. Lewis said of pride that there is no sin we dislike more in others, or are less conscious of in ourselves. And that’s the problem – how often are we ourselves guilty of pride but don’t see it? It takes the conviction of the Holy Spirit to confront our own pride. 

Some of us have the opposite problem. We are forever comparing ourselves unfavorably to others. We need to remember that we are precious in God’s sight, and that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14). I think I am guilty of both. I am given both to preening pride at times when I have done well at something and harsh self-criticism when I fail. In every case I need to remember Paul’s injunction to think of myself with sober judgment (Rom 12:3). I am a child of God, and precious in his sight. Every gift I have is from him. Every success is to his glory. And when I fail, he still loves me as his own.

Following the Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. (Ps 23:1-2 KJV)

Most of the time I regard being compared to a sheep as an unflattering analogy. What makes this different? If God is my Shepherd, then I am his sheep, and I should be ok with that. In human affairs I would bristle at being called a sheep because it would suggest that I am docile and dumb. My pride would be wounded. I want to believe that I am every bit as smart and qualified to lead as the other guy. But that’s where God is different. Let me be under no illusions about how my intelligence and leadership stack up against his. It is folly for me to think I will be better off to ignore his leadership and chart my own course. My Shepherd is all-knowing and all-powerful. He is perfect in wisdom and love. I can follow him without question and know that he will never fail me. Lord, thank you for leading me. Teach me to follow you without question.

Blogger's Proverb

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions. (Pro 18:2)

This should probably be known as the Blogger’s Proverb. It leaps out at me because I delight in airing my own opinions. Hopefully, it cannot also be said of me that I “find no pleasure in understanding.” But the cautionary note is well-applied to all of us, because the delight in our own opinions is a symptom of pride. The blogger must beware more than most. Yet the proper corrective action is not necessarily to stay silent, but to speak in all humility. Every word motivated by pride must be left unsaid. Silence may often be the wisest course, but there is a time for humble speech. There is never a time for prideful speech. Lord, help me to share my thoughts for the right reasons and in the right way. Let me not speak except to be a blessing to others. Amen.

When Life Makes No Sense

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? (Job 2:10)

God is sovereign, and we have no right or ability to refuse the choices he makes for our lives. Job had suffered as few ever suffer and he was miserable, but he understood this. He had not lost sight of God’s sovereignty and he still believed in God’s goodness. If he thought God were evil he would have cursed him (v9). If he thought God were not sovereign he would have ascribed his troubles to someone else. Job lamented his fate (ch3) but he never stopped believing in God’s justice. Job knew there was a reason for his misery; his sin was that he demanded God explain it to him (3:20). God often reveals his purposes to us, but he owes no one an explanation of his actions. And since his thoughts are so high above ours, it is likely that we would not even understand his reasons much of the time. Lord, I know this was a lesson that took me many years to learn. Forgive me when I slip back into the arrogant posture of demanding that you explain yourself to me. What a fool I am when I think that way! You are God and I am not. I will trust in you always. Amen.

Deadly Pride

They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God who had control over those plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. (Rev 16:9)

At the very end of the tribulation God sends the “seven bowl judgments,” seven plagues that afflict everyone on earth who worshiped the beast. Even though they know that these plagues are sent by God to afflict his enemies, astonishingly they refuse to repent and glorify God. Their hearts are truly hard and they are captive to their own pride. Maybe some of the very people I know today will be among their number. And there are many others who may not live to see that day and yet God knows their hearts. He knows they are just as stubborn and prideful as these who would endure the seven bowl judgments without repenting. The condemnation and punishment of such men is truly just. They have surely chosen their own fate. They would only deal with God on their own terms, and so he will deal with them on his.

Limited Beings

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. (Eccl 11:5)

This was a metaphor that worked for thousands of years, and yet today we actually do know much about the “path of the wind” and “how the body is formed in a mother’s womb.” And so we are tempted to think that man has no inherent limits to his knowledge or his power, but this is not so. Every explanation we uncover with science has within it new mysteries, and ever discovery of science shows how much larger and more intricate the universe is. But we are so captivated by the success of science we sometimes forget there are whole classes of questions to which science can never yield any answers. There are spiritual, theological, philosophical, social and moral issues totally outside the realm of science. We must recover our humility and recognize that God’s ways and his knowledge and power are still far, far beyond us. We are inherently limited beings, dependent on him for life and truth and love.

Say It Ain't So

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. (Pr 6:16-19)

The Lord must really hate lies. It made the “top seven” list twice! I'd like to think that I never lie, but I know that's not really true. There is the subtle twisting of the truth, the half truth, and the strategic withholding of information. Always the goal is to make myself look a little better in the eyes of others. Lord, forgive me for my deceitfulness and pride.

What's It Going to Take?

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands. (Rev 9:20a)

The stubbornness of the human heart is amazing. The pride not to admit fault or error is so strong in our fallen nature it infects even the believer. How many Christians are locked into their spiritual immaturity by an unwillingness to admit their need to change? How attached we are to our preening egos and our false pleasures! They keep us locked in impotence and defeat. No wonder it seems that half the book of Proverbs is devoted to the wisdom of receiving correction and instruction (e.g. Pro 12:1). We need it!