Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
Psalm 99:5
We know pride is what caused Satan to fall
He wanted to be like the Most High God
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,
to the sides of the pit. Isaiah 14:13-15
His desire is to be like God
In contrast, If we choose to serve God,
our desire should be to exalt God, not ourselves
Somehow that is not as easy as it sounds
Crushing our ego
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased;
and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:12
Humility is difficult to do, to be humble takes practice and effort on our part
It takes the fear of the Lord, that is, recognizing Who He really is
Forgetting who God is is easy to do
if our eyes are focused on this world, what we see here
There are no other things to satisfy our spirit
but there are many other things to satisfy our flesh
and that is how Satan entices us
To think of ourselves as a great Christian,
To think of ourselves as a wonderful Christian leader,
To be proud of our own efforts for God
Those egotistical thoughts need to be squelched
Sometimes it is hard to sort out the two
The litmus test is always:
Who is being glorified?
Jesus should always be first, first and foremost
We can’t make people honor God
nor can we always make people not give us the glory,
but if our desires and efforts are to honor Jesus,
He will be pleased as He know the thoughts and intents of our hearts
We can do nothing of any value for Him, without Him
He is not impressed with our Self-Righteous efforts
Humility is what God is looking for
Not humility before man, bowing before humans
but true humility before God,
Following His commands and precepts
Standing up for Him, alone as the solo human if necessary,
tapping into His strength,
obeying what He asks of us
What He asks is different for each one of us
Our lives are unique,
and our talents and abilities are different from one another
We are all one body, many parts:
For as we have many members in one body,
and all members have not the same office: Romans 12:4
Count others better than yourself
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory;
but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem other better than themselves. Philippians 2:3
Scriptural References:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
James 4:10
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory;
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Philippians 2:3
Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this,
that he understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:
for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24