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Humble Yourself by Making War on Pride | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reform Thinking. This is a space where we try to
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really closely at theological ideas, at Scripture and
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Christian wisdom. Our goal here is pretty
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straightforward, to help you gain a clearer grasp of some
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central truths. You know, the ones that shape
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how we live and think as believers.
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Today we're opening up a deep dive into something absolutely
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central to Christian living. It's a command to confront pride
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head on. Now, this isn't just like a
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casual suggestion. It's presented as a core
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directive. And the idea, particularly as
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John Piper presents it with such insight, it stems directly from
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Jesus own teachings. Indeed it does.
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Our focus for this deep dive is going to be on specific parts of
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Piper's work, especially his examination of Jesus's directive
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to humble yourself by making war on pride.
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Our mission today really is to uncover the subtle ways, often
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hidden ways, pride operates inside us, and then to contrast
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that with how true humility, the kind Jesus taught, sets us on a,
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well, a fundamentally different path, a much more freeing one.
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We really hope to help you discern these crucial
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distinctions, not just, you know, intellectually, but in a
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way that lets you apply them to your own life.
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Yeah. Absolutely.
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And we've got a rich array of material to look at, drawing
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from Jesus's direct warnings right through his really
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revealing parables. As we unpack these teachings, I
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think you'll start to see how pride's many disguises get
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stripped away, revealing its true nature.
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And you know, in that same light, how a life marked by
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genuine humility brings this unique sort of peace and
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spiritual flourishing. So yeah, let's get into the
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heart of it. We should probably start with
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what our source material calls a direct instruction to humble
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oneself by actively confronting pride.
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Like you said, this is far from passive.
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It calls for diligent, intentional engagement against
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what's described as a pervasive spiritual adversary.
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It's not just a call to not be proud, is it?
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It's more active than that, to actually make war on pride
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within our own hearts. It sounds like a spiritual
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battle. That's a key point, definitely.
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When you look closely at Jesus teachings, it becomes just
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abundantly clear that he had this intense aversion to pride,
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a real deep dislike. His consistent calls for
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humility, his sharp rebukes against pride's manifestations,
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they show he saw pride as fundamentally opposed to the way
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of God's Kingdom. Just think about the sheer
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frequency and the directness of his warnings against it all
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through the Gospels. It wasn't some minor flaw he
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mentioned now and then. No, it was a recurrent theme he
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challenged head on in pretty much every context.
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And it seems this strong disapproval was particularly
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sharp when it came to hypocrisy. Our material connects.
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Pride is the fundamental basis for hypocrisy, right?
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Noting that Jesus saved his sharpest words for hypocrites,
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I'm curious, what is it about pride that makes it the very
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root of hypocrisy, rather than just maybe one of his symptoms?
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That's a really incisive question, because hypocrisy at
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its core is about pretending, feigning to be something you're
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not, particularly in moral or religious things.
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The direct link is that pride powerfully motivates this
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deception. You see it, the proud person
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deep down craves external validation.
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They want human commendation more than they want genuine
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alignment with God's will or truly honoring God.
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They desperately want to appear righteous or devout or wise in
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other people's eyes, rather than actually being so before God.
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And this outward show which is totally disconnected from any
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inner spiritual reality or truth?
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Well, that's exactly what hypocrisy is.
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And that deep seated desire for human applause?
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That's pride's engine. It's what fuels the whole thing.
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So it's not just some accidental misalignment between the inner
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and outer self. It's a very deliberate
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performance, a calculated act driven by this deep desire for
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self elevation in the eyes of others.
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Almost like it, like you said, a spiritual marketing campaign.
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And Jesus makes this crystal clear with a guiding principle
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for understanding His stance, a statement that feels almost like
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a spiritual law of the universe. Whoever exalts himself will be
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humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
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From Matthew 23.12. This is a recurring teaching
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from Him, isn't it? It pops up a few times.
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Absolutely. That statement isn't just a nice
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proverb. It really operates like a divine
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principle, a kind of spiritual reversal.
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Those who in their pride lift themselves up seeking their own
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glory and honor, well, they will inevitably be brought low by
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God. Think about it.
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They might achieve some temporary fame or status among
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people, sure, but their true spiritual standing before God
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will be diminished. Conversely, those who willingly
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take the lower position, who don't seek their own honor, who
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are content to be overlooked, maybe even for they'll be lifted
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up by God himself. And this isn't about, you know,
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losing social standing just to gain a higher one later.
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It's about 1's true standing before the Creator of
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everything. It's a complete inversion of
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human values. Considering this initial
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statement, this core principle, it really does set the stage for
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a spiritual conflict within each of us, doesn't it?
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For you listening, what does it mean for us to wage this kind of
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conflict within our own hearts? It seems to imply constant
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vigilance, a recognition of pride's sneaky nature and a
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willingness to fight against it in its many forms.
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It means recognizing that every single day, we face choices that
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either feed our pride or help foster humility.
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That's a critical insight because our material points out
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that pride is not straightforward.
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Not at all. It's described as a disposition
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that operates in a whole multitude of ways, some really
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quite subtle. It doesn't always show up as
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outward arrogance or obvious self importance.
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Pride has this remarkable ability to hide in plain sight,
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even sometimes in actions that might seem righteous on the
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surface, or maybe even deserving a pity.
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It's fascinating how the material breaks down pride into
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these three core components, almost like it's dispositional
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DNA. They're often called the 3DS,
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Defiance, Desert, and Delight. That last one, Delight,
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immediately grabs my attention. Can we start by unpacking what
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each of these DS really represents?
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Yeah, it's a really helpful framework for understanding
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pride's inner workings. So first let's look at defiance.
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This is described as an inner dedication to ultimate self
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determination. It represents a kind of
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resistance, sometimes quiet, sometimes open against God as
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the proper ruler of 1's life. Now this isn't always, you know,
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an overt fist shaking rebellion against God.
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It can be quite passive, just a silent insistence on controlling
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your own life, making your own rules, leaning on your own
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understanding instead of truly submitting to God's wisdom and
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will. Someone might avoid obvious
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sins, yet still remain committed to being their own ultimate
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authority, just quietly resisting anything they see as
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infringing on their personal autonomy.
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That quiet, inward insistence on self rule?
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That's a deep seated mark of pride.
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So it's not always shouting, no, but maybe more like a quiet,
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stubborn refusal to yield control, even if it's dressed up
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as, you know, self-reliance or personal responsibility.
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Interesting. What about the second D desert?
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You're right, Desert, or you could call it merit, speaks to
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this deep seated sense that you are owed better treatment than
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you're currently getting. Or maybe a belief that you are
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inherently do good things from God.
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This is the direct opposite of the truly humble belief that
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actually we deserve nothing good from God.
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Think of it like a feeling that because of who you are or what
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you've done, or maybe even what you've suffered, you inherently
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deserve a certain level of blessing or comfort or
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recognition. It's this fundamental assumption
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of worthiness that isn't rooted in grace at all, but in some
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kind of imagined personal account you have with God.
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This is the disposition Jesus addressed so directly in the
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parable of the Pharisee. Remember those who trusted in
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themselves that they were righteous and treated others
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with contempt. They absolutely felt they had
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earned God's favor. OK, that makes sense.
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And then the third component, delight, This one seems the most
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intriguing because, like I said, delight usually sounds positive.
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How can delight be a component of pride?
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And what's the core distinction between this kind of delight
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and, say, the genuine joy that comes from spiritual growth or
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receiving God's grace? That's precisely where Piper
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really shines a light on something subtle but absolutely
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critical. Delight, in this pride context,
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describes the pleasure derived not from genuine holiness, but
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from perceiving yourself as superior to others.
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This is presented as a central driver of pride, a quiet
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satisfaction and feeling elevated above those around you.
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Our material makes it really clear this isn't the joyous
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recognition of God's grace changing you from the inside
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out, or a gladness in becoming a better person through his work.
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No, instead it's a contentment found in the feeling of being
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more righteous or more discerning, more spiritual,
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maybe more knowledgeable than the people around you.
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And this kind of delight, paradoxically, it feels a
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greater capacity to feel superior, rather than a greater
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capacity for actual holiness or love.
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Your joy isn't in God's work within you, it's in seeing
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yourself as better than someone else.
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Wow, that's a truly crucial distinction.
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Contentment in perceived superiority versus genuine joy
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in God-given holiness. And it brings us to a really
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interesting comparison. The sources make boasting and
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self pity as two sides of pride's coin.
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This seems almost counterintuitive, doesn't it?
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Especially since self pity often doesn't look like pride at all.
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It looks more like a lack of pride, almost like weakness.
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It is counterintuitive for many, yeah, but our material makes a
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very compelling case here. Let's start with boasting the
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more obvious one. This is pride's direct reaction
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to success. It loudly proclaims, Essentially
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I am due admiration because I have achieved so much.
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This is the unmistakable voice of pride in the strong, the
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successful. It sounds overtly
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self-sufficient, confident and often demands credit.
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You see someone achieve something significant and their
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first instinct is to draw attention to their own effort,
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their skill, their contribution. Seeking applause or recognition.
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That's boasting. OK, clear enough.
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And how does that compare to self pity, which feels so
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different on the surface? Well, self pity on the other
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hand, is presented as pride, subtle reaction to suffering or
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loss or perceived injustice. It essentially articulates I am
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due admiration because I have suffered so much or sacrificed
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so much and nobody appreciates it.
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This is often the voice of pride in the weak or the hurting.
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It sounds needy, doesn't it? Almost like a cry for sympathy
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or compassion. However, and this is a crucial
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distinction, why are sources classified as pride?
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The perceived need stems from a wounded self perception.
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It's a craving to be seen as a victim worthy of special
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attention, or maybe a hero enduring hardship rather than
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truly helpless and just relying on God.
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It arises from a sense of unrecognized worthiness, a
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feeling that your sacrifices are suffering, haven't been
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adequately acknowledged or applauded.
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This is why our material calls it unapplauded pride.
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It's a yearning for the admiration and commendation that
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hasn't received, even in the midst of genuine suffering.
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Unapplauded pride. That's a really powerful and
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quite unsettling way to put it for you listening How do these
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less obvious manifestations of pride like self pity or that
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quiet passive defiance? How do they resonate with
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everyday human experience? Think about moments when you
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might feel you're owed something because of your hardships, or
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when you quietly resist advice even if you don't overtly rebel.
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These are the subtle, internal ways pride can operate, often
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unnoticed even by ourselves. Moving on, Jesus very often
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pointed to the outward, the visible displays of pride,
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especially how it seeks recognition and honor from other
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people rather than seeking honor for God.
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This is where pride's inner disposition becomes undeniably
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visible in our actions, right? Precisely that craving for the
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praise of people is a definite hallmark of visible pride, and
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Jesus addressed this directly, repeatedly in his teachings,
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particularly about religious acts.
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In Matthew chapter 6, verses 15 and 16, he sternly warns against
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doing acts of charity or prayer or fasting when they are done in
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order to be seen by them others. And he calls them hypocrites for
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this very reason, doesn't he? It's not just a casual
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observation, it's a strong condemnation.
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Yes, his language is stark, very direct.
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He points out that these hypocrites love to stand and
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pray in the synagogues and at the street corners.
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They may be seen by others, and when they fast they disfigure
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their faces. That they're fasting may be seen
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by others, UN quote. Our material explains the real
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reason for this behavior. They want to appear as if they
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treasure God, as if their spiritual devotion runs deep,
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but actually their heart treasures human commendation and
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recognition. This desire for human praise,
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for getting outward recognition for your piety, that's a core
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dimension of pride. It transforms what should be an
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act of worship into a performance for an earthly
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audience rather than for God alone.
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It's interesting how this seems to extend beyond just religious
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piety, too. It becomes a broader desire for
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superiority and recognition in society.
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It's not just about church, but about life in general.
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It absolutely does. Pride also craves the praise
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that comes with positions of authority and wealth.
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Jesus contrasts his disciples conduct with that of the kings
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of the Gentiles in Luke 22.2526. He notes that these rulers
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delight in being called benefactors.
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You know, those who do good, who give back, but maybe primarily
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for the praise it brings them. And Jesus makes it clear, but
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not so with you, This pursuit of being over or above others
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because of wealth or power or social standing, it doesn't come
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from a humble reliance on God's grace.
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No, it stems from a proud heart seeking its validation and
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worldly status and the accolades that come with it it.
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It's that craving to be seen as important or impactful or
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generous, all for the sake of the perceived self glory it
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brings. And then there's the seeking of
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honor, specific places and titles that seems especially
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relevant to his interactions with the scribes and Pharisees
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of his day. They were really keen on that
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kind of external validation. Very much so, Matthew 23.67 and
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Luke 20.46*7 paint this vivid picture of their love for the
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place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and
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greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by
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others. To understand this today,
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imagine someone who insists on being called by their
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professional title in every single setting, or someone who
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always needs to sit at the head of the table.
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You know the issue here are material clarifies.
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It's not the titles themselves or even the places of honor
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inherently. Rather, it's what you love, what
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you require, what you desire, what you value in your heart.
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Pride is just powerfully driven by this longing to be honored by
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humanity, to have your perceived status affirmed publicly, to be
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seen as someone of consequence or special standing.
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This brings us to maybe the most vivid, the most striking example
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of pride that Jesus uses. It's in a parable designed to
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highlight that deep sense of merit and the contempt for
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others that comes with it, the Pharisee and the tax collector.
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It's a story designed specifically to hit home for
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those who thought they were righteous, isn't it?
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It certainly is. This parable.
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You find it in Luke chapter 18 starting around verse 9, was
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told specifically for those who trusted in themselves that they
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were righteous and treated others with contempt.
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It's a perfect, almost surgical illustration of how pride
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manifests through a false sense of merit and looking down on
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other people. Imagine the scene.
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Two men go up to the temple to pray.
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One's a Pharisee, A respected religious leader, the other a
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tax collector despised by pretty much everyone in society.
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And the Pharisee's prayer is quite famous, isn't it?
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It's often used as the quintessential example of
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prideful prayer. Indeed it is.
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The Pharisee stands up, praise loudly, sort of to himself, but
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really for everyone else to hear.
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God, I thank you that I'm not like other men.
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Extortion, unjust adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
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I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.
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I mean, it's a textbook example of boastful Thanksgiving.
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He's not genuinely grateful for God's grace.
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He's listing his good deeds. He's contrasting himself with
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others, especially that tax collector standing nearby to
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highlight his own perceived righteousness and self worth.
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But our material explains that his thanks, well, it didn't
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obscure the deep contentment, that inner delight we talked
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about that he gained from feeling superior.
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It wasn't really about God at all.
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It was about himself. That's the key analytical point.
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Exactly. His gladness was in feeling
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superior, not an increased holiness or the sheer grace of
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God. There is this fundamental
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difference between a humble gladness in becoming a better
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person through God's grace, a gladness that points only to
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God's goodness, and a proud delight in being able to see
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yourself as superior to others. Pride's gladness isn't found in
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genuine spiritual growth, It's found in the feeling of
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elevation and having a higher perceived status.
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He wasn't delighted that God had made him righteous.
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He was delighted that he was righteous.
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And others, well, they weren't. For your listening, think about
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how this pursuit of outward validation manifests in
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different ways in our current culture.
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Where do we see a longing for titles or recognition or
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perceived superiority today? Maybe even if it's not in a
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religious context. Think about social media and the
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desire for likes or followers, rofessional achievements and the
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need for public accolades. Or even just how we resent
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ourselves in daily conversations, maybe subtly
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trying to appear smarter or more successful than others.
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These can all be subtle echoes of that Pharisees prayer.
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Now our material reveals a pretty stark, maybe
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uncomfortable truth about pride. At its core, it lacks
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compassion. It just does not truly wish good
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for other people. This is a critical insight
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because we often associate pride mostly with arrogance or self
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importance. But it's loveless nature runs
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far deeper. It affects how we interact with,
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or maybe fail to interact with those around us.
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And Jesus illustrates this powerfully in Matthew 23.4,
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talking about the scribes and Pharisees again.
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They buy up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on
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people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to
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move them with their finger. How does this specific action,
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or maybe inaction demonstrate prides inherent lovelessness?
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This passage is so telling, isn't it?
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It shows a profound absence of compassion, a lack of spiritual
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discernment when it comes to actually helping people with
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their obligations, whether those are religious, moral, or the
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burdens of daily life. The proud person might set
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really high moral standards for others, or they might articulate
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what others should do, but they have no genuine desire to help
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those who are struggling to meet those standards.
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They won't lift a finger to lighten the load.
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Why? Because their motivation isn't
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truly to help others achieve holiness or freedom.
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It's often to maintain their own received elevated status, maybe
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even to highlight others inability to measure up.
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Think of, I don't know, a manager who constantly assigns
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hard tasks but provides 0 support, or a parent who demands
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perfection without offering any guidance.
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It's a kind of spiritual indifference.
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And part of that indifference, it seems, is a direct result of
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their desire to maintain their own superiority.
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If other people succeed too much, well, it diminishes their
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own standing, right? Absolutely.
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One fundamental reason for this lovelessness is that the proud
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is simply do not wish for others to advance past them.
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If someone else were to become more righteous, or more
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spiritually discerning, or even just more successful in some
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worldly way, it would directly threaten the proud person's
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position at the top of their own self created hierarchy, their
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sense of merit, their self congratulation.
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It's often tied to others being beneath them.
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It becomes this subtle competition where the success of
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others is actually seen as a personal threat.
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And this connects to a profound misunderstanding of divine grace
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itself, doesn't it? It goes right back to the
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source. It truly does.
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The proud just don't comprehend how God's grace actually enables
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sinners to progress in holiness without becoming proud
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themselves. Because they don't really grasp
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grace in its true, unmerited sense, they tend to maintain
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duties, spiritual or otherwise, as difficult, maybe even
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impossible. Why?
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So that their own sense of merit and their ability to boast in
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their own achievements can persist.
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Think about it. If the path to God's approval
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were simple and light, like Jesus teaches about his yoke
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being easy and his burden light in Matthew 11 will lit, where
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would their most income from? They'd have no heavy burdens to
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claim they carried so well. Their spiritual practices,
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instead of being a response to grace and a means to love,
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become a means of self exaltation.
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They can't extend compassion because they haven't really
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experienced the light burden of grace themselves.
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For you listening, this is a challenging question.
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How can we discern if our own actions, even things that seem
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good, are helpful on the surface, or maybe motivated by a
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hidden desire to maintain superiority rather than genuine
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love for others? And what does it truly look like
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to help someone with their spiritual burdens, not just by
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pointing out their duty, but by actually coming alongside them
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in genuine self forgetful compassion?
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Now, in stark contrast to all of this about pride, Jesus's
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teachings consistently redirect us towards humility.
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And humility, we find, is very closely linked with our
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readiness to serve others. This is the positive, the
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liberating path he sets before us.
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Indeed, our material shows a really close association between
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humility and servanthood in Jesus.
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Teaching to be humble is presented as being very much
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like being a servant. They aren't identical concepts,
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perhaps, but one naturally, almost inevitably, leads to the
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other. Humility, as Jesus taught it,
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results in this joyful willingness to perform lowly
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acts of service, tasks that the proud would just disdain.
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It's a disposition that makes you ready to, you know, get your
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hands dirty to do what's necessary for others without
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needing credit or recognition or even a thank you.
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The disciples spiritual progress is kind of depicted as moving
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from this profound sense of spiritual poverty to a childlike
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trust and divine grace. And that trust then naturally
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produces a heart of servanthood which results in concrete acts
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of service towards others. And it all seems to begin with
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what Jesus called being poor in spirit.
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That's the very first of the Beatitudes He states in Matthew
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5.3. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
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for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
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What exactly does it mean to be poor in spirit?
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It sounds like it could be misunderstood pretty easily.
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It's. Absolutely foundational.
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To be poor in spirit means that individuals locate no basis for
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merit or desert within themselves.
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None whatsoever. They are the complete opposite
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of those proud individuals who relied on their own
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righteousness. Like that Pharisee in the
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parable, the spiritually poor recognize deeply and
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intrinsically that they hold nothing within themselves.
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No achievement, no inherent goodness, no moral standing that
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could possibly make them commendable to God.
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It's an internal acknowledgement of complete spiritual
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bankruptcy. Think of it like someone who
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looks at their bank account and sees absolutely zero.
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They realize they have nothing to offer, nothing to leverage.
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They are utterly dependent on a benefactor.
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That sounds like a really difficult concept for many of us
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to grasp, especially in a culture that champion
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self-sufficiency, achievement, and building up our own
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perceived self worth. It really does feel
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countercultural. And then Jesus takes it even
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further, doesn't he, with this idea of being unworthy servants?
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Yes, this teaching, maybe more than almost any other, is a
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statement that absolutely nullifies any lingering trace of
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pride, even the most subtle kind.
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In Luke 17.10, Jesus tells his disciples so you also, when you
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have done all that you were commanded, say we are unworthy
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servants. We have only done what was our
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duty. Our material highlights this as
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a profound, almost devastating statement to that last vestige
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of self congratulation we might cling to.
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So even if we were somehow able to perfectly obey every single
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command, we still wouldn't have earned God's favor.
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That feels like it removes any ground for boasting, even in our
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absolute best moments. That's precisely the point.
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Exactly. No level of obedience, from the
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smallest act right up to the most complete, creates any
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absolute entitlement to God's reward.
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Even a person who hypothetically obeyed perfectly without a
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single flaw should still regard themselves as an unworthy
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servant. And this means, essentially, I
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do not place you, God, in any absolute way in debt to reward
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me because of my performance. This conviction that we are do
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nothing good from God, that any good we receive, is purely a
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gift. This is the fundamental basis of
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true humility. It reorients our entire
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perspective away from what we deserve and towards what God
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gives purely out of His gracious character.
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It's actually incredibly freeing when you grasp it.
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For you listening, what does it genuinely mean for you to
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consider yourself an unworthy servant in all that you do, even
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in your very best efforts, your most selfless acts?
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How might this mindset reshape your daily approach to Christian
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living, to your work, your relationships?
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Perhaps freeing you from that constant pressure of earning
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validation or feeling entitled? And while pride leads inevitably
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down a path to condemnation and spiritual emptiness, humility,
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as Jesus reveals it, leads to profound and truly
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transformative spiritual outcomes, particularly the
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reception of Divine Mercy and justification.
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We see this so vividly in the parable of the tax collector,
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the direct counterpoint to the proud Pharisee.
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The tax collector, the very picture of someone's society
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despised, yet Jesus holds him up as an example of righteousness.
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Tell us again about his humble posture.
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Right in Luke 18.1314, Jesus describes this tax collector
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standing way off in the distance in the temple.
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He's unwilling to even lift his gaze up to heaven.
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He's beating his chest in self reproach and just crying out,
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God be merciful to me as a Sinner.
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I mean, this is the quintessential picture of
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humility. He has no pretense, no boast, no
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listing of good deeds. There's just this raw, honest
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recognition of his utter unworthiness and a desperate
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plea for undeserved favor. He knows he's spiritually
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bankrupt, and Jesus's declaration immediately after
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this scene is just profoundly telling.
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I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.
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So he was declared righteous by God, made right with God, unlike
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the Pharisee who walked away without that vindication.
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That's a really stark contrast. Precisely.
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It directly contrasts with the Pharisee who, despite all his
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outwardly pious acts, was not justified.
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This demonstrates clearly that pride actively hinders divine
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vindication. It gets in the way.
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The humble man, the one recognizing his utter spiritual
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poverty and his complete lack of merit.
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He was the one who received God's approval and was counted
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righteous. It highlights that God doesn't
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justify us based on our performance, but on a humble
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posture of reliance on Him. And this leads to a
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fundamentally different kind of joy, doesn't it?
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Not a joy rooted in one's own deservingness, but a joy in
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receiving something entirely undeserved, which is mercy.
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That's exactly right. Our material makes it really
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clear that everything good we receive from God is by mercy.
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It is entirely, 100% undeserved. So the gladness of the humble
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person resides not in feeling deserving, not in having earned
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anything, but purely in the act of receiving mercy and this kind
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of loudness. It highlights God's character as
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supremely gracious and infinitely giving.
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It's a joy that acknowledges God's incredible benevolence,
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not our own achievement. And this is a truly secure and
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boundless joy, isn't it? Because it's based entirely on
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God's unchanging nature, not on our fluctuating performance or
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merits. It's a quiet, deep contentment
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that stems from utter dependence.
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And this brings us right back around to that overarching
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principle from Matthew 23.1. Whoever humbles himself will be
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exalted. This suggests the divine lifting
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up of the humble, not just in some distant future maybe, but
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perhaps even now. Indeed, and this exultation, it
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isn't about seeking human praise or worldly fame.
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It's a divine lifting up by God Himself.
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It speaks to a blessing, an honor bestowed directly by God,
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perhaps even a deep ongoing entry into His presence and
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favor. A presence that the proud lost
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in their self-sufficiency, completely miss out on.
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It really is an inversion of worldly values where what is low
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in human eyes is actually high in God's.
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And this ties directly into the very first Beatitude we talked
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about earlier. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
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for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven from Matthew 5.3.
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It's all beautifully connected. Yes, the poor in spirit, those
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who humbly recognize their utter spiritual destitution.
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They are truly blessed, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
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This is the ultimate spiritual gift, the ultimate reward for
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those who recognize their complete reliance on God's
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grace. It signifies not just some
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future inheritance, but a present participation in God's
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reign, a taste of His sovereignty right here and now.
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Humility, beginning with that recognition of spiritual
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poverty, truly fosters a childlike reliance on divine
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grace. And that leads to a heart that
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is not only ready for service, but also wide open to receive
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all that God mercifully provides.
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For you listening, this brings us to a final thought.
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How does recognizing that everything good we receive from
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God is by mercy, pure gift, and not by our own merit?
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How does that reshape our understanding of Thanksgiving
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and joy? What steps can we maybe take to
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actively seek this kind of humility in our own lives?
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Perhaps by daily acknowledging our dependence on God and
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expressing gratitude specifically for his undeserved
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grace? So we've seen today how Jesus
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meticulously uncovers pride's many disguises, from the obvious
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boasting right down to the subtle voice of self pity and
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his deep roots in that quiet defiance against God and a
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misguided sense of deservingness.
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It's become clear, I think, that pride always seeks validation
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from others. It's always performing for human
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applause. And ultimately, it is a posture
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that tragically cuts us off from genuine love for others and from
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the free reception of divine favor.
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But thankfully, in Jesus teachings we also find the way
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to overcome this pervasive inclination, the clear call to
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be poor in spirit, to see ourselves as unworthy servants
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who merely complete our duty and offer nothing of real merit.
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Well, that opens us up to a truly different kind of
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gladness. It's the gladness of receiving
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undeserved mercy. And this is the path, the only
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path really, to being lifted up by God and finding a true,
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secure place in His Kingdom. So as you go about your week,
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maybe consider this question. What might be a hidden
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manifestation of pride in your own heart right now?
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Perhaps something that looks like strength, or maybe even
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appears as weakness, but is truly a desire for unrecognized
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merit or human praise. And what might it look like in a
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practical sense, day-to-day, to actively make war on that
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specific expression, turning instead to trust holy in God's
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mercy rather than your own deeds or your own perceived worth?
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Thank you so much for joining us on this deep dive into the
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profound and I think, truly liberating teachings of Jesus
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concerning pride and humility. We really hope this exploration
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prompts further contemplation and spiritual growth for you.
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We look forward to our next deep dive with you.
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Until then, continue to seek understanding and live out these
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truths in your daily life. Goodbye for now.