Counting yourself better than others?
That is the opposite of what the Lord instructs us:
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory;
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Philippians 2:3
When Miriam and Aaron counted themselves better than Moses,
the Lord was not pleased. They were quickly put in their place.
The Lord saw them and heard them and corrected them in Numbers 12:
And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses
because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married:
for he had married an Ethiopian woman. v 1
And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses?
hath He not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. v 2
(Now the man Moses was very meek,
above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) v 3
God struck Miriam with leprosy.
He did not give Aaron leprosy. Your guess is as good as mine on that.
There was no explanation but Miriam had to spend 7 days outside
of the camp before the Lord answered Moses’ prayer to heal her.
God is not pleased when we pat ourselves on the back
and are proud of our merits.
Neither is He pleased when we think of ourselves better
than our fellow Christians.
Jesus will call us into account when we meet Him face to face
and maybe before. If we stand at the door so another soul cannot come in,
will that please Him? Would we do that to Jesus if we could?
Remember, He will say to those at the end:
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto Me. Matthew 25:40
There are many who stand at the gate to determine
who can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
None of us mortals have been given that right.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men:
for ye neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Matthew 23:13
Are we not servants of the Most High God?
Since when do any of us get to decide who enters the Kingdom of Heaven?
If we are stingy with our grace,
we might not receive the bountiful grace
God would like to share with us when we stand before Him.
What scripture teaches that?
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged:
and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Matthew 7:2
In other words, you receive the amount you give.
God’s word which has many parables and scriptures and stories
teaches us of God’s grace.
If we don’t extend and share God’s grace and mercy with others,
we risk not having grace and mercy bestowed upon us.
So, always count others better than yourself.