Have you ever said to yourself, either verbally or mentally:
In light of a problem: “I’ve got this. I can handle it by myself.”
Or after an accomplishment: “I did it myself with no help from anyone!”
Those statements may indicate a self-opinion that is too high. The truth is we can’t—don’t—do anything without the help of God. He is our breath and life.
God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!
Daniel 5:23 NLT
And He (God) is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything.
Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else…
For in Him we live and move and have our being.
Acts 17:25 and 28 NIV
The ‘puffed up’ attitude can become a habitual part of our lives. The way to counter a self-opinion that is too high is to compare ourselves with God as His Word describes Him, and us. The benefit to this for me (and hopefully for you) is that it reminds me (us) of how great God is and still how loving He is toward us. It is humbling to realize that:
All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.
I Peter 1:24,25
Let’s look at just a few other Scriptures that will help us balance our self-image with His Truth:
I am — “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
James 4:14 ESV
God is — “from everlasting to everlasting You are God.”
Psalm 90:2
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I am accountable — “So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Romans 14:12
God is — “…the great God, the great King above all gods.”
Psalm 95:3
God is our Creator; we are His creation. Do you see in just these few verses what a vast difference there is? We can’t be God, but that is the lie which an inflated self-opinion would lead us to believe, whether we are aware of it or not. (Remember Satan’s fall as told in Isaiah 14:12-15.) Instead the truth is that we need God. We need His guidance. Without Him, our life and our accomplishments don’t amount “to a hill of beans” (a trifling value).
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
Galatians 6:7
Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.
Jeremiah 10:23
An inflated self-image is a dangerous trap. Look at some of the verses from the end of the chapter that point this out:
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18
The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty…they will be humbled.
Isaiah 2:12
‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’
Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:6,7 ESV
Hmmm, if I’m correct, that last Scripture (in James chapter 4) is saying that pride, arrogance, too-high a self-image are each sin that we should run from. Ouch! Okay I get it. This is not just some little hiccup in our personality. This is a sin, a wedge that will separate us from God. I want to get rid of that, how about you!? This next Scripture is our guide to help us correct our self-image to line up with God’s image of and plan for us:
Come near to God, and He will come near to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts…
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 4:8-10
Praise God, He loves us enough to point out the areas we need to change, and then shows us exactly how to do it.
We are, after all, fallen and flawed. We are like the sheep in Isaiah 53:6, we “…have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way….” But the Good News is that God is the Giver of life! (Psalm 36:9, NCV). Jesus knows His sheep, and as we humble ourselves more and more to Him we hear and know His voice and we follow Him.
The One who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep…
and the sheep listen to His voice.
He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out…
and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
John 10:2-4
So instead of being in the dangerous position of a self-opinion that is too high, and will surely cause us to wander “off the cliff of pride,” let’s humble ourselves before our God Almighty. Let’s continue to listen to His voice, to follow Him, and get rid of the high self-opinions He sees as sin. He is Our Good Shepherd who wants only the best for us, His sheep.
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Dear Lord God Almighty, we humble ourselves before You today. We ask You, Lord, to show us any sin of a “self-opinion too high.” Thank You for Your Word that not only reveals our sins, but also reveals Who You are, who we are in Your sight, and just how much You love us. We want to repent of pride today and receive Your forgiveness. We want to know Your voice and follow You because You are our Good Shepherd Who loves us and wants only the best for us, Your sheep. Thank You. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Esther – Chapter 5:9
“Haman was a happy man as he left the banquet” (Esther 5:9a, NLT). His seemingly ever- increasing power starting from his promotion (chapter 3:1 and 2) to King Xerxes giving him his signet ring and carte blanche to do what he wanted with this “certain people” (chapter 3:10 and 11) to this intimate banquet with the king and queen (here in chapter 5:4 and 5), was feeding Haman’s pride big time. Not only that but Queen Esther had invited him to a second banquet! His hat didn’t fit his big head anymore, and his buttons were popping off his cloak from his puffed out chest as he walked out the king’s gate to go home for the night! Can you hear his evil cackle? Oh, I don’t like this guy!
“But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervously before him, Haman became furious” (Esther 5:9b). We already know from Esther chapter 3, that Haman planned to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews. Now, when he saw Mordecai sitting there so peacefully with no regard for him at all, Haman almost exploded on the inside with indescribable hatred.
Mordecai “stood” his ground by sitting when Haman walked by. Mordecai knew Who he had to ultimately answer to, and it wasn’t Haman. Mordecai had full confidence in the Lord’s provision and protection. Confidence in God and the humility of obedience and submission to Him gave Mordecai a calm and peaceful presence that was like acid eating away at Haman. (Compare the similarities when Jesus “stood His ground” in His last hours, Matthew 26-27.)
Haman was so full of himself that he couldn’t see that his pedestal of pride had no foundation. One day it would come crashing down around him. As Matthew Henry’s Commentary would describe him: he is a self-admirer, a self-deceiver. Doesn’t he sound like someone else we know? Isaiah 14:13-14, “For you (Satan) say to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne about God’s stars…and be like the Most High.’” Satan’s plan is for the destruction of God’s creation. His pride is so great and his rage against God is so consuming that he intends to kill and destroy (John 10:10) everyone he can. But he has no foundation of truth. He has built his plan on pride and hatred. He and his plan will fall. Isaiah 14:15, “Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary also says: “A slight affront, which a humble man would scarcely notice, will torment a proud man , even to madness, and will mar all his comforts.” Haman was tormented by Mordecai’s affront, his intentional defiance. I believe Satan is tormented by our affronts when we stand against him and his evil plan to destroy us and our families.
We have two life examples to look at here. We have Haman who lived a very self-centered and prideful life. He deceived himself and he deceived others, especially the king, for very selfish motives. Then we have Mordecai, who was a humble man of faith and confidence. His motives were selfless as day after day he watched over and wisely advised Esther, even to the extent of sitting at the gate when “trouble” walked by.
Today we have the opportunity to check our motives for what we do and what we say. If our motives are based on feeding our pride and obtaining power over a person or a situation, we are self-deceived and insecure. If a small offense eats away at us, we will want to check our lives for underlying pride. A life controlled by pride will lead us to “destruction,” as we read in Proverbs 16:18.
If our motives are directed by our faith in God, then we will live selfless lives of submission and service. We will not be easily offended, and will forgive quickly. We will stand in humble confidence and peace, even as we “sit by the gate” when trouble tries to destroy us. (Ephesians 6:13.) We will have an inner assurance that God will show Himself mighty to save.
Who does your life look most like…Haman or Mordecai? Is it one of pride, torment, insecurity, fear, and eventual destruction? Or is it one of humility, peace, confidence, faith, and life? Today is your day to choose “life and have it to the full.”
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Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord, we come humbly to Your throne of grace today. Even at this moment we are searching our innermost beings for areas of pride and deception. Help us, Holy Spirit, to find them so we can repent and allow You to cleanse us. We want our motives to be pure and selfless. Please help us to not be easily offended and to quickly forgive. May each of us live a life of humility, peace, confidence, and faith. Thank You for offering us life to the full! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.