I started singing in public in the first grade. All through school, I sang for special programs, assemblies, and talent shows. Many people told me what a great voice I had; I even dreamed of being a singing star one day. Besides singing in school, I sang often in church, first alone and later with family members. There, too, people paid me many compliments.

Singing was one thing I did well; I also excelled as a student. It’s not that I was all that brilliant, but I worked harder than most to make good grades. Those high marks brought high praise, and motivated me to try even harder. Having other people say good things about me made me feel good about myself. I hated doing badly in anything I did; if I couldn’t excel in something, I refused to do it at all.

Never once did it occur to me to give glory to God for anything I accomplished, even after I got old enough to recognize that my talents and gifts came from him. Even when it came to a certain ability to grasp the truths of the Word, I took all the credit people would give me. From time to time it occurred to me that I had really reached an advanced stage of spiritual growth….

In C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, the Devil is giving advice to one of his demons on how to ensnare a Christian who seems to have no chinks in his spiritual armor. “Have you told him,” Satan asks, “how humble he is?” Even great spiritual strength can be a weakness if it becomes a source of pride. That kind of spiritual vanity was the great sin of the Pharisees. They relished public approval for their piety, and made a great show of everything from giving alms to fasting to praying.

It is very difficult to turn aside praise for something we do in the Lord’s service, or to redirect it toward him. By the same token, it’s hard to tell someone how much we’ve been blessed by something they’ve done, and still give the credit to God. There is a thin line between building someone up and inflating them.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t have a good opinion of ourselves. The second great commandment, after all, is to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we don’t love ourselves for who we are, how can we show love to others? We can’t give something we don’t have. People with low self-esteem, and I know many, have great difficulty in relating properly to others. We need to recognize that we are worth so much that Christ died for us. Christ compared the value of our souls to the whole world, and clearly implied that our souls are worth much more. Humility doesn’t consist in rating ourselves dead last when compared to others, but in seeing ourselves as God does, in Christ.

The problem comes when we take for ourselves praise that should go to God. There is no such thing as a “self-made man,” or a self-made woman. We succeed in life only because of abilities and talents God gave us. “I did it my way,” crooned Frank Sinatra. “There is a way that seemeth right to a man,” says the Book of Proverbs, “but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) The world’s measure of success is far different than God’s. His view of success is summed up in Micah 6:8: “He hath showed thee, oh man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to have mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Jesus said the measure of our love for him is how well we show love towards those in need (naked, hungry, sick, or in prison).

Corinth was a proud city in ancient Greece, and the Corinthian church was very proud of its self-perceived spiritual maturity and its abundance of spiritual gifts. Paul helped them see how spiritually immature they really were, and how misplaced their pride was in what God had given them. Like Christ, he told them the real measure of their success was in how well they loved. Paul himself said that he would boast only in Christ, and him crucified.

God has constantly reminded me of all this. Too often, I have had to repent of pride in some accomplishment or another, without acknowledging that the praise goes to God. Even with this newsletter, many of you have had many kind words to say. Without God in my life, and the inspiration of his Spirit, there would be no newsletter. It all comes from him, and the praise for it belongs to him alone.

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JESUS IS the Bridge Ministries

Beneath His Wings Devotionals - Vol. 1