Let’s read Ephesians
4:2, Proverbs 29:23 & 15:01 in tandem
“Be
completely HUMBLE and GENTLE; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
A
man’s pride will bring him low, but
the HUMBLE in spirit will retain honour.
A
GENTLE answer turns away wrath, but a
harsh word stirs up anger”
The Holy Spirit God
commanded the church in Ephesus through the Apostle Paul to be completely humble and gentle. This was not a mere suggestion but a command..!
Why is it so important
to be humble & gentle?
The opposite of humbleness is pride. And pride is like
a slow-poison that brings a man down slowly but surely. But humbleness on the other hand is like a
magical potion that maintains a man’s inner fervour and sustains his outer
honour.
While Pride is a mental attitude, Humbleness is a spiritual attribute. One can be proud of their education, talents, achievements,
external appearance etc, all of which are either physical or mental but never
spiritual. There is nothing in the spiritual realm that man can be proud of. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”(James 1:17). God’s
grace is a free gift; God’s Love is a free gift; God’s salvation is a free gift;
Peace of God is a free gift; Hope in Christ is a free gift. You name anything which
is good
and perfect
– ALL of them are free gifts from God. Therefore, there is absolutely NOTHING
in the whole of universe that you and I can boast about as self-made or self-achieved.
Jesus
said “Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am GENTLE and HUMBLE in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29, 30). As
God’s children in Christ we are to imitate Him
(Ephesians
5:1).
The
yoke of PRIDE is too difficult to carry and the weight of HATRED
(harshness) is too burdensome – both are extremely fatal.
No comments:
Post a Comment