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Let Me Tell You About Me...
We all have probably met, or even now know, someone who seems to monopolize every conversation of which they are a part, and maybe even take over ones into which no one invited them. Such individuals seem to be oblivious to the people around them, but they are not oblivious because they take over the conversations for the very purpose of telling others how much they know, what their opinion is, and — no surprise — all about themselves. They seem to seek out an audience just so they can be the center of attention, and if no one pays them any attention, they will then insert themselves into a group of people [or corner one person] just so they can tell the others all about themselves and what great things they’ve done [or will do, if given the chance].
We recognize such individuals as egocentric, self-centered, and vain, and we rarely want to be around them if we have a choice. We often avoid such individuals because we know they will monopolize the conversation — again — and it will be all about them and how great they are, how smart they are, and, of course, how their opinion, their accomplishments, and their ways are far superior to anyone and everyone.
Those who exhibit such personality traits suffer from an overdose of self-worth, and are proud most of all for being the individual they are, and definitely not someone else [who would, naturally, be inferior]. We see such an individual in the story of the praying Pharisee. Listen to his prayer to God:
“God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11, 12). This man demonstrated two of the main traits of the self-centered: (1) He was thankful he was “not like other men” whom he deemed inferior, and (2) he boasted about what he had done. The worst part of the boasting was that he was boasting to God about his deeds — as if God wouldn’t know what he had done. It was as if this man approached God, saying, “God, let me tell you how great I am!” This man believed he was superior to all others, and believed he needed to remind (?) God of this ‘fact.’ What arrogance!
But let us note that this story was told by Jesus “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9). The praying Pharisee was such a man! He was truly what we would call ‘self-righteous,’ and he looked down on others as lesser than himself. Let us also note that this man was not justified by God, but the humble tax collector was “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).
God has never praised nor accepted the proud, and that is made clear from the Scriptures. One of the earliest stories of the Bible is that of the building of the tower of Babel, when man decided to settle in the plain of the land of Shinar, and said amongst themselves, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:1-4). God humbled man by confusing their language so they could “not understand one another’s speech,” causing them to scatter throughout the earth according to their families and languages (Gen. 11:5-9).
We also see pride in the words and actions of Pharaoh when Moses was sent to him to tell him to let God’s people go. Upon hearing this, Pharaoh replied, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go” (Exod. 5:1, 2). Maybe Pharaoh thought that since he ruled the most powerful empire in the world at the time that he could easily reject the Lord and His will and remain just as powerful and as prosperous as he and the nation had been in the past.
Pharaoh was sadly and terribly mistaken, if that is what he thought. After ten plagues were sent by the Lord and the land was devastated — along with just about every living creature within Egypt — and after suffering the personal loss of his own firstborn (Exod. 7-12), Pharaoh finally relented. His pride in himself and in his land was the reason they suffered, and it was a hard lesson he could have learned a lot faster if not for his pride. Even after his humiliation, he returned to having that inflated view of himself and his abilities and then pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea, where he and his entire army perished (Exod. 14:5-31).
If these examples are not enough to show how God views the proud, let us then consider a few Bible passages. First, the wise writer tells us that among the “six things the Lord hates” is “a proud look” (Prov. 5:16, 17). He also tells us, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 16:5), and, “A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin” (Prov. 21:4). James (Jas. 4:6) and Peter (1 Pet. 5:5) tell us, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” And Jesus reminds us, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:12).
Though we may shake our heads at all these examples of pride and say a hearty “Amen!” at the Bible passages that condemn it, could it be that we are unknowingly guilty of our own demonstrations and attitudes of pride in our own lives?
The NLT translates 1 John 2:16 in this way: “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” We most often refer to this [as the NKJV translates this] as “the pride of life,” but the NLT puts in terms we can better understand. It is this pride in our achievements and in the possessions we have obtained that reflect a worldly mindset and/or influence and, as John wrote, it is not of God.
While we would like to think believers would not engage in such self-righteous behavior, the reality is that we sometimes do. I have seen and heard brethren through the years who felt compelled to tell me about how righteous they were [especially contrasted with others], how they ‘put someone in their place’ in a religious discussion because ‘they didn’t know the Bible' [at least not as well as they]. and we sometimes feel smugly comfortable in our ‘righteousness’ because we never miss an assembly, always know the ‘right’ Bible verse for the answers, and are careful to use “Thee” and “Thou” in our prayers and when speaking about God.
Brethren, let us be reminded that not one of us is without sin (Eccl. 7:20), and if we think so, we are deceiving only ourselves “and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). It appears some brethren don’t realize how self-righteous they appear when they primarily talk about themselves and what great deeds they have done. Maybe we need to be reminded of what Paul wrote: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Rom. 12:3).
Talking about self and putting on a show of ‘righteousness’ is not going to lead anyone to Christ; it might even be the reason we drive them away! Instead of talking about self, make Christ the focus of our conversations more often. Exalt Him, exalt His word and His ways, and humble self that He might be glorified. — Steven Harper
