Mar
16
The most arrogant person I know
Posted by Champ Thornton at 10:34 pmFiled Under ethics, theology
Who is the proudest person I know? To borrow the famous words of G. K. Chesterton, “I am.”
I know my own heart better than anyone else’s. So, from that perspective I can’t think of a more proud person. (Of course, if you know someone more proud, just let me know. Being the proudest person I know is not a claim I’m proud of. Wow–now this is getting confusing.)
Anyway, the upshot of this is that I desire to encourage humility and attack pride in my life. Not because I am humble, but because I am proud. Here are some helpful thoughts excerpted from John Piper and C. J. Mahaney that I want to employ in the fight against pride. Piper writes:
1. Humility begins with a sense of subordination to God in Christ.
2. Humility does not feel a right to better treatment than Jesus got.
3. Humility asserts truth not to bolster ego with control or with triumphs in debate, but as service to Christ and love to the adversary.
4. Humility knows it is dependent on grace for all knowing and believing.
5. Humility knows it is fallible, and so considers criticism and learns from it; but also knows that God has made provision for human conviction and that he calls us to persuade others.
6. Humility is to believe in the heart and confess with the lips that our life is like a vapor, and that God decides when we die, and that God governs all our accomplishments.
The following list is an excerpt from C. J. Mahaney’s personal list which he uses in his quest for humility. As he says, “Think of this as a list of recommendations, not requirements. . . . Custom design your own list. . . . You should be purposeful about this. Each day you should be addressing your greatest enemy and cultivating your greatest friend. So here’s how I attempt to mortify pride and cultivate humility.”
Here are ten recommendations from Mahaney’s list, but the full list and much more are included in his short, excellent book, “Humility.”
1. Study the attributes of God, especially His incommunicable attributes
2. Reflect on the wonder of the Cross of Christ
3. Study the doctrine of sin
4. Invite and pursue correction
5. Encourage and serve others each and every day
6. Identify evidences of grace in others
7. Discern your thorns
8. Recognize your relative unimportance
9. Laugh often, and laugh often at yourself10. Play golf as much as possible . . .
Andrew Murray had a marvelous little volume on the subject (titled, appropriately enough, Humility.
Although I’m not a huge Andrew Murray fan (a bit mystical, imHo), I also have heard good things about his little book on humility. Nice addition to the post, Peter. Thank you.