When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2 NIV
Humility
According to an article on the BBC website: “Canadians aren’t only polite; they’re incredibly humble too, and reluctant to take credit for even plainly heroic acts. When a gunman attacked the Canadian parliament building in October 2014, Kevin Vickers, Canada’s sergeant-at-arms, responded quickly and calmly by shooting the assailant with the handgun he keeps in his office. And while Vickers was glorified in the Canadian media, it was his humility, not his marksmanship or bravado, that was celebrated.”
***
Social media these days gives a platform for narcissists to promote themselves globally. An entire industry of people called influencers has risen – and millions of people follow them and emulate their actions, their attire, their ideas. This is how the world has always operated – self-promoters gain a hearing. Meanwhile, in the kingdom of God, something altogether different is at work. King Solomon noticed this, and wrote in Proverbs 11:2: “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” How many people have convinced themselves that they are above the law – that they are so powerful, or so popular, or so important, that they can get away with doing anything. It never ends well. Napoleon dies as an exile on a distant island, Stalin dies alone in a tiny room, Hitler takes his own life in a bunker deep beneath destroyed Berlin. Solomon, as usual, was right – with pride comes disgrace. Sadly, we have seen that even in religious leaders in our day. But he is also correct when he says that with humility comes wisdom. How much better to recognize that all we are, all we have, all we have done is because of God’s empowering and grace. Let us walk in humility today.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley