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Love is not Arrogant

Arrogance is a disease born of poor personal insight. Self appraisal often comes with one of two biases. We either think too little of ourselves, or too highly. Unfortunately, it's the latter that often gets rewarded. People who talk highly of themselves are more likely to be noticed at first. Still this leading edge is often all it takes to get someone through the door in a competitive and saturated professional field. Why are so many successful people arrogant? Often many of them are only where they are because of their self aggrandizement. One of the US's recent presidents suffered greatly from this ailment. 

While the Old Testament has various words for the idea of arrogance, the New Testament has one dominant word for arrogance with a few occasional variations and synonyms. Paul, author of Corinthians, uses every instance of the word arrogant except for one.  James is the only other Bible writer and he uses an obscure word that could mean pride or arrogance. However in the Old Testament, most authors had plenty to comment on the proud and haughty.

Take a gander at these passages where the Bible expressly teach us that God and the arrogant do not get along.

Psalm 119:21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from your commands.

Isaiah 10:12 | When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.

Psalm 119:78 | May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts.

Jeremiah 13:15 | Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.

Jeremiah 50:31 | “See, I am against you, you arrogant one,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, “for your day has come, the time for you to be punished.

Proverbs 16:5 | Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.

What is it about arrogance that the Lord hates so much? When we reflect on the reality that there's only one person who's opinion of us matters, I think it becomes obvious. God sees worth in us--not for who we make ourselves out to be, but for who we truly are. How silly it must be to our creator to see us prance around, puffing ourselves up to pretend we are more than we are. He sees the interior of man. He knows.

Paul warned the christians meeting at the house church in Corinth, "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power." (1 Cor 4:19)

The word power used here is the greek word dunamai. It's literal interpretation would be akin to "ability" or "action." Paul warns that he would not be measuring how big the corinthians could talk, but rather what fruit their actions bore. I believe the Good Lord will come soon and do likewise for us all.  When we talk the talk without walking the walk, we lack personal insight, or worse, we aggrandize ourselves. We are arrogant when we claim to be good christians, but we have not power in our lives, no action, no ability of godly living. Arrogance, is truly a disease we need healing from today.

Sadly, arrogant people are quite common. I should know. Chances are, you know someone arrogant. Moreover, arrogance is rampant among ministers and preachers. I can't speak for other professions, but for church pastors I can see that sometimes young preachers join the holy work in part because of personal ego. A desire for praise or to exert influence can be an intoxicating but destructive ambition.

There is only one cure for arrogance. That cure is the precious blood of Jesus. Only by beholding the man on the cross can we accurately appraise our worth. In that blessed meditation, i believe you will find that you worth is less than--and at the same time, more than you might have thought.

Love is not arrogant.

 

-pastor eli

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