Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 3 of 6: “The Impact of Humility!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: Pride and the Proverbs
There’s a way to achieve for everything.
Want to maximize life? Live to the fullest.
Want to be the top of your game? Hire a coach.
Want to be financially independent? Learn investing.
At face value there is nothing wrong with maximizing life, being at the top of your game or financially independent. However the motivation and path to these ends can bring a person down or bring a person honor.
All these lures of life can captivate the ego’s of our heart. We believe the way to get the most out of life is to beat others to the top. We believe to be the best in the game, we have to put down everyone else. To be financially independent, one has to be a cutthroat in making money. Behind all these is the drive of pride to gain the recognition, wealth, honor and life can bring a person.
As we’ve seen this week in the Proverbs, they turn the tables.
Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
And then another:
Proverbs 22:4 Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.
Huh?
Is the recipe that simple? Humility and fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life?
Yep.
Why?
Humility allows us to learn from others and serve others. We begin to realize the greatest joy in life is as Zig Ziglar put it: You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want. Or better yet Jesus told his disciples: Mark 9:35, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Putting the Lord first allows him to realize everything on this earth is his (Psalm 24:1) and everything we have is a gift from him (James 1:17). Our hearts shift from storing up treasures on earth to storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).
A fear of the Lord realizes that more important than the temporary things of life is an eternity of life with Jesus. So we seek after those things that give eternal life, not just pleasures in this life. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
We spend a lot of effort seeking wealth, honor and life…perhaps it’s time to let go of the false promise of pride and practice humility and the fear of the Lord. In these, the Lord promises to bring wealth, honor and life.
Apply: Commit today to practice humility and prioritize the fear of the Lord. Journal how the Lord blesses this renewed focus.
Prayer: Spirit of God, drive out all pride from my heart and replace it with humility and the fear of the LORD. Amen