Do you think highly of yourself? Do you believe you are above other people? Do you look down on some because of the way they look, the amount of money they have, their lack of possessions, or a physical lack of ability? Do you look down on your fellow Christians?
We can become high and mighty in our own minds. We can think too highly of ourselves. We can look down on others for any number of reasons. Life becomes a competition. We even compare our failures, or sins, to others, explaining how ours are lower level.
Jesus warns us against thinking highly of ourselves. It is our ultimate downfall. Just a few verses before today’s verse, Jesus warns the disciples not to be like the Pharisees, who laid heavy burdens on other, meaning standards, yet did not live up to them themselves. They pretended to be humble for show. They sought to have the best seats at dinners. They desired to be applauded by others. Jesus warns us not to be that way.
Instead, we are to humble ourselves. We are to be the servant of others. That is following in Jesus’s footsteps. For He came to be a servant. Being humble does not mean we allow ourselves to be walked on. It means we humble ourselves before God with true humility. We honor him and acknowledge we are nothing without him. We submit to his will, seeking to be like Jesus. Jesus says that when we humble ourselves to God, God will exalt us. He will raise us up. We can continue to pursue the spotlight and look down our noses at the less fortunate or we can be a servant who follows in Jesus’s footsteps. We cannot be both.
I pray we all give up thinking highly of ourselves. I pray we humble ourselves before God. I pray each one of us will be a servant who is striving to be more like Jesus every day. Do not think highly of yourself. Humble yourself before God. Be a servant. Be more like Jesus.
Matthew 23:12 “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
