"Take Hold" Series: Week Two Follow-Up

 

Pride VS Humility

"The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this, they will not go unpunished." - Prov. 16:5

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." - Prob. 16: 18

To understand the nature of humility as a characteristic of God's image, it's important for us to understand the mysterious nature of the Trinity. God is not a He, God is a Them. The three-in-one. Transcending our finite concepts of "one" and "multiple," God embodies the essence of community and relationship within God's self. There is only one God, and God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all in one. God's very nature is displayed in the mutual love and submission shown within the Godhead.

Life for us is all about relationships, first with God and then with others. Pride is anti-relationship because it says we don't need God and we definitely don't need others. Pride is consistently concerned with identifying our place in the pecking order. It separates and divides. It pushes away. Pride is about as anti-God as you can get.

Jesus' Example

As you reflect on our tendency toward pride and our struggle with humility, here are a few examples of how Jesus keeps pride at bay:

"By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me." - John 5:30

"So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man,then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.'" - John 8:28

• Do you think Jesus is speaking literally or symbolically?
• What words would you use to describe Jesus' relationship with God the Father?
• How does Jesus' relationship with his Father seem opposite of prideful?

 

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