God Hates Arrogance

God Hates Arrogance
by Max Lucado 

 Proverbs 16:18 reminds us as humility goes before honor, “pride goes before a fall.”
Ever wonder why churches are powerful in one generation but empty the next? The Bible says, the Lord will tear down the house of the proud. God hates arrogance. He hates it because we haven’t done anything to be arrogant about. Is there a Pulitzer for ink? Can you imagine a scalpel growing smug after a successful heart transplant?  Of course not. They are only tools. So are we. We may be the canvas, the paper, or the scalpel, but we are not the one who deserve the applause.

David declares who does in Psalm 23, “He makes me, He leads me, He restores my soul… for His name's sake." For His name's sake! No other name. This is all done for God’s glory. He takes the credit, not because He needs it, but because He knows we cannot handle it!

From Traveling Light 

Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com

I normally don't supplement the contributions of Max Lucado; they are powerful and succinct and stand alone, but this morning I feel the need to add just a bit. When I truly became committed to moving in God's will (this means surrendering my own), one of the first things I did, was take an inventory of my character traits. At the top of that list of character traits was arrogance. 

When I took the time to evaluate the experiences of my life, I had to admit that my arrogance was the cause of many of my difficulties. What really took me by surprise was how I allowed my successes, accomplishments, and advances to influence this arrogance complex. All that I had done with any true intrinsic value was empowered and facilitated by God. Alone, I could do nothing. 

In essence, arrogance is the result of taking credit for what God alone has done. 

I see this everyday in the Christian world. We have become so smug in our belief that we have it all figured out that we actually believe that there is no room for improvement. We blame our failures and difficulties on the enemy without ever introspectively evaluating our condition. We could not possibly be off center; there is no way that we could be out of line; it can't be me. This mindset moves us away from the very thing God is attempting to accomplish in our lives. 

Paul was given a thorn in the flesh to protect him from arrogance. What has God given you? 

We need to spend more time in our Word and more time in the presence of our Lord; this will give us less time to be consumed with ourselves. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace 

Paul said that he had been crucified with Christ and he no longer lived his life for himself. This is the mindset of the believer.