The Way Up is Down

From our book study, Unpacking Forgiveness:

"Jesus delivers a lesson on humility in the context of teaching on conflict resolution and forgiveness. We see quickly how relevant humility is to those situations. First, true humility nips conflict in the bud. In one way or another, selfish pride causes all quarrels and fights (James 4:1-10; Matt. 7:1-5). Second, if we are truly humble, then when we do have conflicts, they will be resolved far more quickly."

"Pride is not limited to arrogance or cockiness; it is not just an inflated opinion of oneself. Pride is any way of putting self into central focus. This distinction is critical because if we understand it, we can identify more subtle, more insidious kinds of pride. In addition to arrogance or conceit, pride might express itself in any of the following ways: overly critical, insecure, shy, overly sensitive, impatient with others shortcomings, easily embarrassed, or given to worry and anxiety. If you couldn't find yourself in the list, you are not off the hook. We all struggle in some way with centering too much on ourselves. C.S. Lewis said, 'if you think you are not conceited, then you are very conceited indeed'. He also said that 'there is no fault which we are more unconscious of than in ourselves'. The question is not if you struggle with pride but how."

C.J Mahaney says in his little book "Humility: True Greatness" that pride is our greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend. So, listen to a few more quotes on this very important topic:

Jonathan Edwards - "pride is the worst viper that is in the heart and the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ". He called sin the most difficult sin to root out and the most "hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts".

John Stott - "pride is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is the essence of all sin".

Charles Bridges - "pride is contending for God's supremacy"

Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him!!

So what is the first and greatest remedy for the sin of pride?

John Owen - "fill your affections with the cross of Christ that there may be no room for sin" (including pride)

Martyn Lloyd Jones - "there is only one thing I know that crushes me to the ground and humiliates me to the dust, and that is to look at the Son of God and especially contemplate the cross...nothing but the cross can give us the spirit of humility"

John Stott - "every time we look at the cross Christ seems to be saying to us, 'I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying'. Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size."

There are many other disciplines that will help us to fight off pride and to be truly humbled, but none greater than staying near to the Cross.

We sing it often in "When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride".

True humility comes from application of Truth! Humility will come when we honestly assess ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness. Once again it is so critical that we know the Truth of God's Word because what we "believe" will always affect the way we "behave"!