Proclamation:
“But He
gives us more grace. That is why
Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” James 4:6 (NIV)
Explanation:
These are
the words of James, the half brother of Jesus, as he quotes Old Testament
Scripture. (Proverbs 3:34) He is trying
to convey to the people of God that pride promotes strife and does not please
God. He states that whoever loves
himself and the world is an enemy of God. (James 4:4) Then he tells them that God gives more of His
grace to the humble individuals and withholds it from the proud non-believers.
Application:
Most of
us think too highly of ourselves. As
believers we are encouraged to live in harmony, to be sympathetic, to be
compassionate, to be humble, and to love one another as brothers. (1 Peter
3:8-9) We are to be a blessing to one
another, especially to the less fortunate.
It is hard to be a blessing to someone when we do not think very highly
of them. We are to be sympathetic to the
plight of others, and humble in our dealings with them. We are not to
think less of them because they are different.
Treating others in a
non-Christian way may cause us to miss out on a blessing. We should not look down our noses at others
because of their situation because, but for the grace of God, we could be in
that situation. God does not forget the cries of the humble, He remembers
them. (Psalm 9:12) “For
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be
exalted.” (Matthew 23:12) A man’s pride
shall bring him low; but God will hold up the humble spirit. (Proverbs 29:23) Therefore let us humble ourselves before God
and let Him bless us and exalt us in due time. (1 Peter 5:6)
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