If I have discovered one thing in
the ministry, it is that Christ-likeness is humble and nothing shows arrogance
more than a person who is "religious."
A young lady went to her minister
one day and confessed, "Pastor, I have to admit I've become vain in my
thinking. Why, just this morning I
looked in the mirror and admired my beauty." The elderly minister paused and then said
with a smile, "Be at peace, my dear.
To be mistaken is not to sin!"
Sometimes we as Christians are a
lot like that young woman. We see
ourselves through "rose-colored glasses" and fail to hold a proper
view of our strengths and weaknesses. As
a result, we attempt what we are not cut out to do, or we try to exercise gifts
we do not possess. An inflated estimate
of our capabilities hinders the Holy Spirit's work in us and opens the door to
embarrassment and failure. We must
remember that He gives us our talents and empowers us so that what we
accomplish brings glory to God, not to ourselves.
In Romans 12, Paul tells us how to
gain a right perspective. He says that
we should guard against having an inflated opinion of ourselves, but instead we
should see our lives in the context of the "mercies of God." Because we are forgiven sinners through faith
in Christ, we can be content to do whatever He chooses. Confident that He accepts us and wants to use
us, we are then free to exercise the talents that are most natural to us.
So let's not envy the achievements
of others. Let's not try to be like
someone else. We can avoid being
mistaken about our gifts by thinking soberly about ourselves as God gives us
the measure of faith.
What to do:
✞ Remember, a Christian sees their own faults while the religious person only sees the Christians faults.
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