Where is the fine balance found between lackadaisical service to Christ and spiritual pride, how does one who is called out of the sheepfold remain humble, where is humility found in the man who has been called by God for a specific purpose.
Spiritual pride is a detestable sin, it claims for itself the gifts of God, it takes blessings and transforms them into hypocrisy, it says “I will.” Spiritual pride does not look on the weaker brother with love, it does not view the lost with compassion and great sorrow, it says thank you Lord for not making me like this man. (Luke 18:11) Those who have been called to go a little further with Christ sometimes lose view of where they are to be going, they begin to take the accomplishments that He has wrought in them as their own, they stop looking forward, and start looking back at their achievements, they forget that it was not by their power but by His might. (Zach. 4:6) A wise man will repent at the very moment he begins to see these approaching traits in himself, he will remember that he is but dust, but the foolish man will start a religious organization, even if he is the only member.
Saul decided he could no longer wait for Samuel to arrive, he prepared and offered the sacrifice himself, and paid the price of the kingdom for it. (1 Sam. 15:26) I do not know the reason Elijah ran from Jezebel after killing 480 false prophets and then running faster than a horse, (1 Kings 18:46) but perhaps he needed to be retaught humility, a humble man offers the Lord God a great opportunity for His name to be glorified, a man who is used by Him in such a way is a great benefit to all who meet him, as long as he remains filled with humility, but it can be so easy to put down the one who is beating his breast and asking God to “be merciful to me a sinner.” (Luke 18:13) Peter knew this when he asked the Lord to depart from him, “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O LORD,” (Luke 5:8) but later proclaimed that he would follow Him even unto death, and that caused him to see the truth about himself at that moment, for “Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:62)
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) Spiritual pride will inevitably enter into the heart of every born-again believer at one time or another in their lives, the frustration of seeing multitudes walk into hell each day, the burden of seeing those who profess Christ as Lord not living fully in the obligations that they have been commanded to obey, all these and more can, and will at times lead to a “I am better than you” mentality, they will lead to spiritual pride. Self-depreciation is the path that many Christians take when these emotions appear, and although they may seem correct at the moment, they are a deceitful lie from our adversary, no child of God is useless in His sight, and they should never look upon themselves as such.
Dying to self has nothing to do with self-depreciation, it has everything to do with submission. We are to die to self, we are to deny our sinful desires, we are to lay all this and more at His feet and plead for guidance, but no child of God should ever see himself as less than what he is, a child of the Most High God, heir to the kingdom of heaven, one being made into the very image of the Son of God Almighty Himself. Humility and pride, the most diametrically opposed objects in all creation, and we have the ability to portray both to their fullest extent.
The fullness of knowledge of the Sovereignty of God should destroy within a man every notion of spiritual pride, humility should reign constantly in the life of everyone who understands this word and the only One it will ever apply to. Pride, spiritual pride, is reserved for those who have received blessings but refused to see them as a gift, those who have decided to worship the creature, themselves, instead of the Creator. It never ceases to amaze me, the finite mind believing it can comprehend the infinite, the temporary believing itself to be immortal. That is exactly what pride is, and when it is combined with the spiritual, it is a most grievous sin indeed.
Humility is not subservience, it is reverential trust, it is the knowledge that there is a God in heaven who rules the nations of men, (Dan. 4:17) and it always leads to a willingness to serve for His glory, for His name alone.
