Pride and Humility
Friday’s Verse:
From Numbers 16:3 ESV
They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”
When you first hear Korah and his followers, they almost sound reasonable. They talk about holiness being for everyone. They cite equity. Beneath the words, we see something tougher to read. In our hearts, something easy to overlook in ourselves: pride.
Pride doesn’t always roar. Sometimes pride speaks softly and calls itself righteousness. Sometimes it masquerades as egalitarianism or justice. But the heart of pride is always the same. It rebels against what God has ordered. It will not trust God to know what He’s doing or who He’s choosing to do it through.
Korah’s protest wasn’t really against Moses. It was against God. God had called Moses and Aaron to their positions. By rejecting them, they rejected God as well. That is what pride does. It elevates our own standard over the Word of God.
Sound familiar? When God doesn’t do what we think he should, we question His ways. When His Word rubs us the wrong way, we kick against it. We decide we know better than Him. It’s a quiet rebellion. Much less fiery, but still deadly.
The antidote for pride isn’t forcing ourselves to be small. It’s knowing who God is and what He has done. Christ didn’t reach for greatness, but humbled Himself to death on a cross. And yet he is Lord!
In Christ, we are learning a new way to live. We learn to receive, not grasp. To trust, not demand. To rest in our place, not exalt ourselves.
While pride separates and kills, humility receives life.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, pride rises up in me so quickly. I doubt your ways and elevate my own standards. Forgive me. Restore my heart and teach me to trust in your Word. Teach me to receive what you have for me and live in humility. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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