“James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ...”
God didn’t use me to write the book of “James” because… well, it would have been called “Boyd” for one … but more significantly, I would have been too intent on listing my qualifications … If I were in James shoes, I would have used my kinship with Jesus to elevate myself …my letter would have started like this: “I’m Boyd, Jesus’ little brother… so I’m pretty important.”
But James’s only claim to fame is his servanthood to God and Christ.
Being a brother of the Savior, the leader of the church, a guy who spent his whole life with Christ and knew Him better that any of the disciples… None of these “credentials” mattered to James… Instead, the title he chose was “bondservant of God.”
What titles do you choose?... What accolades do you consider important? Are there things you “humble brag” about to make sure you are listened to, and respected by others?
Scripture says we must decrease so He will increase, but most would rather tell you to do that, than do it themselves. We want to be humble, but we want people to admire our humility …and that’s a problem…self-promotion is a problem… Jesus says we have it backwards.
Christ preached that the first shall be last… The servants will be the masters… Being poor in spirit is the only way to be rich. And while we often preach these truths – we seldom pursue them.
We call pride a sin but fail to recognize it as the original one… It is the enemy’s first and favorite weapon, and our semi-tolerance of it has allowed it to destroy countless lives. It breeds hypocrisy. It disguises itself as piety, and poisons churches … Nothing disqualifies you as a follower of Christ more than pride.
Let’s try humility today… Not for a moment, but for the entire day … Let’s think of others as more important than ourselves. Praying that God will use us - and not even let us know – so we may walk in humility with God, serve others, and not be tempted by the deadly sin of pride.
Nothing will enrich your life more than choosing to elevate God and His children, instead of yourself.
“Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” - C. S. Lewis
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