The Cross in an Obstacle to Pride
Humble Yourself – Part 1
Scripture Reading: James 4:6-10
Key Verse: James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
If we are determined to take up our cross, we must learn to humble ourselves. In other words, we make these decisions, not God. We are not robots, but free moral agents created by God. He allows us to be proud or humble—we choose. However, His Word instructs us to choose humility over pride. That is a good decision for us because pride leads to many falls and failures. I do believe, by the way, that God helps us along in this path to humility—usually via some embarrassing experience that was caused by our prideful attitudes!
The point our scripture is making today is that we can and should choose to humble ourselves before the Lord. Picking up your cross will mean many decisions that take humility to make. It might mean you spend time with people of low status as far as the world is concerned. Your association with them might be a humbling experience for you. You might choose to live in a smaller house or drive an older car in order to give more to the needy. Those decisions might be a humbling experience, if you feel pressure to “keep up with the Jones’.”
There will be many examples of life’s circumstances that will exemplify taking up your cross. If you choose to, you are humbling yourself before the Lord. (Continued)
Father, I will need your wisdom and courage to truly humble myself today. I want to pick up my cross and follow you! In Jesus’ name, amen.