Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Mark Twain wrote a short story called The Million Pound Bank Note. The gist of the story was a moneyless American who was stranded in London. Two brothers made a wager that if he was given a One Million Pound Note, he could live for 30 days without spending any of it.
In the story he was seen by people as one who should be admired simply because he possessed such a large sum of money. He had done nothing to merit the vast sum of money, yet he was offered credit, given gifts, and shown respect. It was distressing to see human nature paraded in such a shallow view.
Taking our eyes off of this story, we only need to look around us to observe many similar instances. People may have achieved their position by chance, not by anything they did to merit it. Suddenly they are given respect and told how great they are. This leads to pride in thinking that they really are something special.
Do you perhaps see yourself in this picture? One of the greatest threats to true discipleship is the sin of pride. The Lord is the only one who is to occupy the throne of our life. The very moment that we place self on the throne, we move the Lord off and sin has won the victory. We need to empty our lives of SELF and fill them with CHRIST!
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil