“When arrogance comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2 CSB
Arrogance is synonymous with pride. This little story I found sums it up well:
God was once approached by a scientist who said, “Listen God, we’ve decided we don’t need you anymore. These days we can clone people, transplant organs and do all sorts of things that used to be considered miraculous.”
God replied, “Don’t need me huh? How about we put your theory to the test. Why don’t we have a competition to see who can make a human being, say, a male human being.”
The scientist agrees, so God declares that they should do it like he did in the good old days when he created Adam.
“Fine” says the scientist as he bends down to scoop up a handful of dirt.”
“Whoa!” says God, shaking his head in disapproval. “Not so fast. You get your own dirt.”
Isn’t it true? We don’t think we need God, until we do. When life is going great, bills are paid, kids are good, spouse is happy, we don’t think we need God. We become arrogant without even realizing it. Until something happens, then we need Him. We need His dirt to fix our mess. And we have to ask for it. We have to humble ourselves before Him and confess, we can’t do it without Him. Living in America, the land of plenty, it can be even harder to recognize our need for Him. But we need Him as much today as we ever did.
I’ve always said, when things are going well, that’s when it’s harder to cling to God. We get caught up in the moment, letting it sweep us away. We can lose sight of who it was who brought us to the dance. We wouldn’t be here if God hadn’t created us. This life we have, it’s from Him. He created us, He provides for us, He has plans for us. We may think we’re doing it on our own, but we’re not. He’s doing it for us. God is a gentleman though, He’s happy to let us go our own way, do our own thing. Thankfully, when we fall, He’s always there to pick us back up, brush us off and help us get going again. God isn’t selfish with His dirt, if we only ask.
Let’s ask today:
Lord, we’re sorry for our arrogance. We’re sorry for the times we lose sight of who our true dance partner is in life, You. Help us to remain hungry for Your word, let it keep us humble in Your sight. Let our humility bring us Your wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2 CSB). In Jesus name we pray, Amen.