Herod, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Lucifer … . The examples of their downfalls warn of the devastation that can be experienced by those who lift themselves up in pride. How can we avoid such disastrous consequences? On the one hand, we may be encouraged by parents and teachers to do great things in life, but if we accomplish amazing things, how can we escape the judgment of God if we are lifted up in pride? Can we prevent people from praising and honoring us for our actions? If we receive praise and honor, won’t we be tempted to have pride in ourselves and our accomplishments?
What is the best approach? How should we respond in situations that could likely lead us to be puffed up with pride in ourselves?
Paul and Barnabas faced that situation while they were in Lystra, and their response serves as an example for us.
“While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him in a loud voice, ‘Stand up!’ And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.
“When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, ‘These men are gods in human form!’ They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.
“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.’ But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.”—Acts 14:8-18 (NLT)
After the amazing healing of the crippled man, Paul and Barnabas were worshiped as gods. They responded by firmly speaking out against this misplaced adulation and correcting the people who wrongly directed the glory to them. They refused to accept credit and redirected the glory to God, where it belonged. Paul and Barnabas were able to avoid being lifted up in pride because they first had a clear understanding that they were nothing special, that only God is special, and that they can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). God deserved all the credit and they insisted on giving it to Him.
Paul Cain called this “dumping the glory.”
Paul Cain accomplished amazing things as a minister of God. In his ministry experience, he told people the secrets of their hearts which he had no natural way of knowing. He spoke to people he had never met before and told them their names, their birth dates, and where they lived. He accurately predicted future events. Many people in his meetings experienced dramatic healings from crippling infirmities and diseases.
With all of these amazing accomplishments in his life, he was able to avoid the destructive consequences of pride by refusing to accept personal praise for anything good that was accomplished in his ministry. Instead, he directed all of the glory to God. After all, nothing he did could have been accomplished without God. It all came from God. It was only fitting that all of the glory and adulation should go back to God.
“Take Your Glory, Lord!”
William Duma came from a small South African Zulu village with only twenty huts. After attending the Baptist seminary, he had an intense supernatural encounter with God that changed his life forever. He went on to have a powerful ministry that was marked by undeniable miracles of God. Through his ministry, many people were dramatically healed, delivered, and raised from the dead.
When Mary Garnett wrote William Duma’s biography, she used one of his own common catch phrases as its title, “Take Your Glory, Lord!” This humble man who powerfully impacted the lives of so many people insisted that God receive all the credit and all of the glory for anything good that came from his ministry.
Pride causes us to have a distorted, inflated view of our own importance that is out of proportion with reality.
We can avoid the destructive consequences of pride by giving the credit and the glory for amazing achievements back to God, where it belongs. Athletes do this by pointing up to Heaven after scoring. We can do this, even if we don’t say anything, by living a lifestyle of heartfelt gratitude to God for all of the good things He has allowed us to experience.
There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. To avoid the tragic consequences of pride, we must realize and never forget that anything good in us or in our lives did not originate with us, but it was given to us by God.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens]”—James 1:17 (AMP)
John Paul Jackson once corrected his son by telling him that Superman is not awesome. Batman is not awesome. Cartoon superheroes are not awesome. Only God is truly awesome. They made an agreement from that time on to reserve the word “awesome” for God alone.
“Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom. And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile.
“Say to the king and his mother, ‘Come down from your thrones and sit in the dust, for your glorious crowns will soon be snatched from your heads.”—Jeremiah 13:15-18 (NLT)
