Pride Destroys, Humility Builds Up

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Better Together   Pride Destroys, Humility Builds Up By Rick Warren — May 21, 2015 “Be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3b NCV) Pride destroys relationships. It shows up in a lot of different ways, like criticism, competition, stubbornness, and superficiality. The problem with pride is it’s self-deceiving. Everybody else can see it in us but us. When you have a problem with pride, you don’t see it in your life. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride leads to destruction; a proud attitude brings ruin” (NCV). I love this verse in the Message paraphrase: “First pride, then the crash — the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” Pride destroys relationships, but humility is the antidote to pride. Humility builds relationships. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:8, “Live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble” (GWT). How are you and I going to grow in humility? It happens by letting Jesus Christ begin to control our thoughts and hearts and attitudes and reactions. He’s got to be a part of this. Ephesians 4:23-24 says,“Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person” (CEV). How do you become a new person? How do you start to think in a different way? The basic law of relationships is this: You tend to become like the people you spend time with. If you spend time with grumpy people, you get grumpier. If you spend time with happy people, you get happier. If you want to have more humility, spend time with Jesus Christ. He is humble. He wants a relationship with you. He wants you to spend time with him in prayer and reading his Word and talking to him. He is humble, and as you get to know him, you’ll become more like him. “Be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves …. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to”(Philippians 2:3b, 5-6 NCV/NLT, second edition). No one has done anything more humble than Jesus, coming from Heaven to Earth to become a man, live for us, give his life for us, and be resurrected for us. When you spend time around him, it makes you more humble, and that builds your relationships. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What are some of the common characteristics and habits of people you know who you would call humble? How do you need to change the way you think about other people so that you can become more like Jesus? What does it mean to give more honor to others than to yourself? Today’s Scripture “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” (Psalm 119:165, ESV) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Great Peace God not only wants to give you peace, He wants to give you great peace! When you love the law of the Lord, nothing can make you stumble, and nothing can steal your peace! Great peace gives you joy when it doesn’t make sense for you to be happy. It’s peace that passes understanding. Great peace keeps you stable and strong no matter what you face. Today, make the decision to focus your attention on God’s Word. Psalm 119:105 says that His Word is a lamp to our feet and light to our path. His Word directs us and protects us. Choose His Word today and embrace the great peace God has in store for you! A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You for Your Word that gives me great peace. I choose to focus on Your Word today so that You can protect and guide me. Thank You for working in my life in Jesus’ name! Amen.” PS.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv55FMjeMV0