For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:11)
“HAND ‘EM OVER,” I instruct my daughter when I pick her up from school every day. She rips off her glasses and hands them to me so I can give them a good scrub down. Each time I hold them up to the light I am amazed that she was able to read her teacher’s notes through the multitude of smudges. Even she would admit, though, that sometimes she makes mistakes because she couldn’t see clearly.
When Jesus addressed the Pharisees, He didn’t just address their behavior, but also their perspective. The Pharisees had dirty spiritual lenses—they were quick to think highly of themselves and less of others. They wanted to surround themselves with the prominent people in society rather than the people who had nothing to offer them in return. That dirty smudge of pride contaminated their ability to truly love as Jesus commanded.
The Pharisees didn’t realize they struggled with pride. Unfortunately, sometimes we can be prone to the same—mentally placing ourselves above others. In doing so, we hinder the work of Jesus in our lives and in the lives of those we encounter on a daily basis. In God’s economy, there is no room for pride; the only way to keep our personal perspective clear is to hold up our hearts to the light of Christ, asking Him to reveal the dirt that needs to be removed.
Choose humility over pride today, so you can truly love others as Christ commanded.
Rebecca Aarup studies at Liberty University and enjoys leading small groups in her church and mentoring other women.
