[251 words]
“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”’ (James 4:6)
Life is filled with humbling circumstances. Some of these are instances that we bring upon ourselves, while others are out of our control. They are moments when the right thing to do is to swallow our pride and humble our spirits, yet to do so can be the most difficult part of the entire ordeal.
Pride is a strange emotion in that it often seems disconnected with logic and reason. People can be filled with pride when they are right…or when they are wrong…or when they don’t even know if they are right or wrong! It is the root emotion of peoples’ most negative and destructive motivations: envy, bitterness, rage, vengeance, and above all, rebellion. The opposite of pride is humility, which is rooted in the more practically defined spirit of submission. It is a willingness to give to another, even to the point of self-sacrifice.
The scripture could not be clearer concerning God’s view of pride. He hates it! He loves submission. In fact, a plethora of scriptures make it abundantly clear that God actively works against the proud, and promotes the humble. Perhaps this is why we are told to “rejoice in suffering” (James 1:2-4), in that such times provide us for opportunities to choose the path of humility. In the end, we may even be able to thank God in our troubles, by showing gratitude for opportunities to grow in humility.
Kerry Williams
Valley View church of Christ
Jonesboro, AR