Wednesday: The Actions of the Arrogant
Just as humility is positive and brings blessings, a lack of humility is dangerous and brings curses. After having encouraged the virtue of humility by showing its rewards and fruit, Proverbs 30 gives a stern warning about the dangers that come from pride.
Cursing your parents (Prov. 30:11 & Prov. 30:17). Agur begins with this category, for it represents the most serious act of arrogance, when children despise their source of life. Significantly, honoring and blessing one’s parents is the only commandment associated with the promise of life (Exod. 20:12; Eph. 6:2-3), while the death penalty is prescribed for its transgression (Exod. 21:15 & Exod. 21:17).
Image © Krieg Barrie from GoodSalt.com
Self-righteousness (Prov. 30:12 & Prov. 30:20). The condition of sinners who think of themselves as righteous is bad, because they will stay in their sin, believing that they are pure and don’t need forgiveness. This is why the confession of sin is so fundamental to obtaining forgiveness (1 John 1:9). The Laodiceans, who claim that they are rich, intelligent, and well dressed (though unaware that they are poor, blind, and naked), are counseled to acquire from God the means to repair their miserable condition (Rev. 3:14–18).
Here is represented a people who pride themselves in their possession of spiritual knowledge and advantages. But they have not responded to the unmerited blessings that God has bestowed upon them. They have been full of rebellion, ingratitude, and forgetfulness of God; and still He has dealt with them as a loving, forgiving father deals with an ungrateful, wayward son. They have resisted His grace, abused His privileges, slighted His opportunities, and have been satisfied to sink down in contentment, in lamentable ingratitude, hollow formalism, and hypocritical insincerity.
— Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 83.
Contempt (Prov. 30:13-14). The picture presented of the arrogant is not pretty. Though they have a proud look on their face, the arrogance doesn’t remain just there: it is manifested in the contempt they reveal to those who they feel are below them. The imagery of the fangs
and teeth
(Prov. 30:14, NKJV) show just how bad their actions are.
Think about how you have treated others, particularly those to whom you might even feel superior (most of us have those feelings at times, do we not?). How can you make it right? How can you display the humility needed to make it right?
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Pride and arrogance are very difficult to conquer if one feels better than the other e.g. - rich, educated, clever. etc. it makes people think they are made in heaven and they are closer to God than the others. When they are elected not in church office,they concentrate on their power to control others, not on service.
that's true and l experience inside the church of some leaders are not totally serve to God but just be a felling self~righteousness... my point is to be humble and connect to the members as a humble leaders.
It is a interesting to note that humiliation or the threat of humiliation has been used through out the ages as a way of forcing individuals to conform to a groups' norms.
Yet here we have a counter cultural wise man saying be humble don't be the one humiliating others.
Could it be that if we are humble then we cannot be humiliated and that means the worldly standards will have no power over us?
Shirley, I'm sure you're on to something with that last question. Jesus, the perfect man of humility, when in the judgment halls of the highest authorities in that part of the world, could stand as King, answering or not answering as He saw best. His humility was not one of thinking Himself to be nothing, but one of knowing that He was totally subservient to the will of His heavenly Father. Therefore, He was unmoved by the fury and folly around Him.
Its apparent that in most cases people dont easily realize it when they are falling into the trap of self righteousness and contempt of others. It feels normal in some part and is in form of a positive expression of our selves. Some mistake it for being assertive. That is why we need a constant self check to ward off the evil that comes with these two ways of living. A daily check, with Jesus as our standard, is needed or else we will soon fall into that trap!
We must pray Rev.3:18
I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire that
thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment,that thou
mayest be clothed,and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyeslave,that
thou mayest see.
Rev 3:18 is indeed something all of us should pray about. To me those three things are the essence of what Jesus came here to do for us. To cover us with white robes by imputed righteousness and to purify our characters through the trials of life through the process of sanctification, that is what salvation is to us.
The eyeslave is what the proud and arrogant need which I have many times been humbled by - I am not always right. Sometimes I fail in doing what scripture says I should do, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself" (Phil. 2:3 NKJV). Those are the things I need to see in my life - the lamp supplied with oil is for me to see where I am and to light the correct way.
This is where most us called 'Laodiceans' fall. In our own estimate we think we have it all 'rosy'. [,have all the truth to see us thru the pearl gates of have. We are so conceited within ourselves, thinking we are rich, increased with good and need nothing, yet the true witness is saying, 'you are wretched (unhappy), miserable (troubled), poor(in need of truth),blind(illiterate, conceited) and naked(without the righteousness of Christ). He is telling us to buy 'eye salve' ( search the truth from his word) the we may be healed of our maladies.
When truth comes to the people of god in a way we do not anticipate, we are so quick to rubbish it and call it heresy. We are so inclined to put our trust on the leading men. God calls us to receive truth upon ots own merits- because it is truth. ' No matter by whom light it is sent, we should open our hearts to receive it with the meekness of Christ...we should all know what is being taught among us; for if it is truth, we need it.
The lord says he will use men for the accomplishment os his purpose whom some of the brethren would reject as unfit to engage in the work-rh feb9, 1895
In view of the above the lord says he will spew us of his mouth if we do not heed his counsel( our prays will no longer be heard)
Therefore, brethren, let us not hide in the darkness. Let us stand in the light, lest we stumble and fall and not be found. Self-righteousness is a killer. Remember inspiration tells us that no prophet, however honored of God had all the truth. Truth is progressive. May the lord give us the spirit of wanting to dig deeper into his spiritual store house- like the Bereans during the time of the apostle Paul.
Being humble is easy to say. But the truth is we are only human, but when you fix your face (your life) to Him in heaven, everything is possible.
It's hard but it is possible with Him... if we constantly ask his guidance, his protection and let him lead us... all believers can do it! It's the faith that does it to you with Him!!
Revelation 3:18 reminds me of Revelation 22:14 Washing our robes in the Blood of the Lamb(doing the commandments) is akin to buying gold tried in the fire, so we maybe rich with His love.
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Revelation 3:18.
Now we can do this without selfrighteousness(arrogance), because we have given of ourselves without reserve to Christ. We have surrendered our bad habits to Christ. Yes we have been born again. Essential elements!
Proverbs 30:11-14 Mentions 4 Generations.
Four stages of the fall of someone who had known the truth.
1. Disrespect toward Parents/ Maker
2. Self-righteous
3. Proud
4. Oppress and Persecute the saints.
Example 1- Lucifer
Example 2- Cain
Example 3- Judas
Example 4- The Papacy
Example 5- Laodicean Condition (As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition... They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.)GC 608.2
Example 6- Apostate Protestantism
The humble are those open the door of their hearts to the knocking of the voice (message) of Christ and allow Him to come into their lives and sup with them.
May God Bless the humble servants.