Verse of the Day - Proverbs 18:12

Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
~ Proverbs 18:12 (NIV)

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In the world of recreational sports, there is a rather comical phenomenon that occurs -- it's call "trash-talk". You probably know what I'm talking about...

James: "I sure hope you're ready to get your tail kicked in horseshoes, Joe, 'cuz I'm gonna give you a whoopin' today...!"

Joe: "Yeah, right -- you're gonna get skunked so bad, you'll feel like road-kill. I hope you've been practicin', 'cuz you're gonna need it..."

Jessica: "Don't get too high-and-mighty, boys, 'cuz us girls are gonna beat your behinds bad...!"

And on and on the competitive banter goes! It's all in fun, but often, the wisdom of Solomon comes in to haunt the haughty. This 4th of July, while playing a very fun game, called Slingball, one of my friends said, "I think I'll wait until after I win to talk trash -- it didn't work so well for me the other way around the last game I played, and lost..." :-)

In this life, we want praise...we want to be noticed...we want the accolades. Sometimes we even praise ourselves out loud to others, just in case the gleam from our trophy didn't catch their eye. And God warns us that pride is a trophy-toppler, plain and simple. When we revel and glory in our accomplishments as something we've done, we really set ourselves up for a fall. The bottom line is that all we're able to accomplish is because of God...we couldn't even take our next breath without His doing, let alone scale mountains and conquer our little corner of the world.

Do you think God can simply remove His hand of blessing, in order to help us understand our real weakness in life? You betcha! It's called discipline, and if we're not careful, it can be rather painful.

Thinking more highly of yourself than you ought isn't good for relationships, either. Who wants to hang around a braggart? It gets real old real fast to hear someone talk about how good they did this, or how great they did that. "Don't brag about yourself-- let others praise you." (Proverbs 27:2)

And if people don't praise you and that bugs you, then you've identified a pride problem. The converse of pride is humility -- not the false kind that says, "Oh, stop saying how well I did. Really, I'm not very good. But can you help me carry my 12 gold medals to my room -- they're rather heavy..." True humility recognizes its own real weakness, and God's blessings. It removes ownership of glory and gives it to God, where it needs to be.

Pride is a deep heart issues that require God's intervention. Without Him, we are all prideful people, wanting glory and honor for ourselves. But God's Word reminds us that only God is deserving of honor and glory and praise. Does that mean that we shouldn't accept a compliment for a job well done? No, of course not. Does that mean that we shouldn't clap for those who work hard and accomplish goals? No -- as Proverb 27:2 says, we should commend others for good effort, so they don't feel they have to. Being an encourager, as God tells us to, includes giving people positive feedback on their efforts.

I'm sure you can think of people you know on both sides of this fence -- those that brag about themselves and make sure everyone knows about their accomplishments, and those who quietly go about their business, doing great things but staying out of the limelight. Which people are dearer in your hearts? Which attitude is dearer to God's heart?

God says He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34), and James and Peter both reference this Scripture in their books (James 4 and 1 Peter 5). This is an issue in the world and in the church, and we need to be mindful of how we view ourselves. It's not just what comes out of our mouths; it's what's in our hearts. And God sees our hearts.

Let us examine soberly how we think about ourselves and our accomplishments. Let us get on our knees in submission to God, who is the Giver of all things. We are not great on our own; only by God's grace are we able to do and be anything. Let us humble ourselves before Him, and give Him the praise and glory He is due -- Amen!

Love,
Joelene