2nd Kings Chapter 14.
The king of Judah, King Amaziah, became arrogant and as a result of his arrogance, he died.
Arrogance is a killer and pushes people away. It's not any fun being around an arrogant person. It exalts itself. It gives glory to self. He puts focus on self. It's wanting people to see you. It involves bragging about self. It's not excluded to anyone or any certain type of person. Arrogance hits us all at one time or another.
Humility is attractive to people. People are more drawn to a humble person. It's the ability to talk about great things happening but realizing it's because of God's power that you are even able to accomplish such things. It's the ability to point to your workforce, your spouse, your ministry team and identify their gifts and abilities and exalt them with their accomplishments, but again ultimately being able to say thank you Jesus. It's giving God the glory.
We should feel good about our accomplishments. We should be able to identify our strengths and weaknesses. It's okay to talk about them, but once you start to talk about them, be careful, it's at that time the temptation comes in and is easy to make it come out as LOOK AT ME versus Look At God, or LOOK AT ME vs LOOK AT OUR GREAT TEAM OF PEOPLE. Humility is the ability to say thank you to God and others. I hope that makes sense.
I’m reminded today of the parable that Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14.
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”