Thought for the day
A man dressed as Napoleon went to see a psychiatrist at the urging of his wife. "What's your problem?" the doctor asked."I have no problem," the man replied.
"I'm one of the most famous people in the world. I have a great army behind me. I have all the money I'll ever need, and I live in great luxury."
"Then why are you here?"
"It's because of my wife," the man said. "She thinks she's Mrs. Smith."
Pride tends to do two things with us. It causes us to see ourselves as more important than what we really are. That's why Paul wrote, "...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought..." (Rom. 12:3, NIV).
But pride also causes us to see other people as less important than what they are. Someone has described us as having a "crab mentality." The term refers to a pot of crabs in which one tries to escape over the side, but is relentlessly pulled down by the others in the pot. As humans, we often act the same way. If we can't be somebody great, we can at least pull down others around us so that we look better by comparison!
In the Corinthian church, there was a lot of competition involving spiritual gifts. Those who had the more prominent or public gifts, such as the ability to preach or the ability to speak in different languages, regarded themselves as superior to those who held what they viewed as "less significant" gifts.
Paul says, though:"On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor....But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other." (I Cor. 12:22-25, NIV).
May God help us not only to ourselves as He sees us, but to see others around us as He sees them as well.
Verses
Luke 1:37
For every promise from God shall surely come true."
Luke 13:16
"So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound--think of it--for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Mark 11:24
Therefore, I exhort you, All things whatever you pray for and ask, have faith that you have taken hold, and it shall be for you.
Isaiah 1:19
If only you are willing to obey, you shall feed on the best of the land;
Prayer
Father, I am thankful for the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures that provides an objective and accurate guide for every season of my life. The Bible is a lamp unto my feet and a light for the path that lies before me. It teaches, convicts, corrects, and trains me in the ways of godliness. Though many will choose other authorities to guide their lives, I choose Your Holy Book to equip me for the works You’ve called me to do in Your name. I rely on its inspired texts to sustain me in my lifetime commitment to walk in Your ways as I travel the Bible Road that leads to eternal life. Amen.
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