Arrogance

(Psalms 10:4) “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."”

Arrogance is something that we will all have to contend with along life’s journey, this is a given. Sin has taken care of that. It is one thing to be arrogant with like-minded people but we enter a totally different dimension when our thoughts and the rot that comes out of our mouths breaks out against God. Woe to the one who exalts himself above the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless, praise and honour His name now and forever more; the One who has offer mercy to the whosoever in and through His Son. Repentance is on offer to those who understand their need for salvation. But with arrogance as your companion you will struggle to understand your need for salvation.

Unless we are brought to a place of absolute humility, where the pride of our hearts are not always second guessing the plans and will of God, true salvation will elude the unbeliever.

Job was a man who was blameless with his conduct when it came to his praise toward his God. He lived in Arabia which lay towards Chaldea, near Euphrates, probably not far from Ur of the Chaldees, where Abraham was also called, a land where very little thought was given to God’s will by the rest of its population. As for Job he was about God’s resolve and God commended him for this, wow! What a privileged position to find. But in order for a man to arrive in such a place the fear of God needs to be paramount, with a lifestyle of turning from evil and only then will a man be worthy of mention by the supreme God and ruler of the universe. Observe; “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1) – Although his siblings were not like minded he continually offered up prayers and sacrifices for their salvation.     

Arrogance is a trait that supersedes God’s order dressed in a cloak of selfishness. Another word commonly used in place of arrogance is pride; the fruit of pride is this train of thought; “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."”

You may find yourself in a place of reasoning where deep within the recesses of your soul you acknowledge that their must be a God but you find a resistance to the toil of life and find that you are always second guessing the plans of God; if this is true then arrogance or pride if you prefer is still dominating your lives. And the fruit of it will be to run to evil even if you consider yourselves to be good. God alone is good, He is light and we were born with so many evil traits of darkness that until we are freed from that type of reasoning we will remain in the ditch of arrogance where obscurity dominates. Sentiments like “I am not a murderer” loom and yet we still covet what we do not have. Men second guess the laws of God as if they know better. There is a day coming where every individual every born to the world will have to give an account to this awesome God, of this I am certain; “for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:11-12)

Life will test our resolve when it comes to where we stand on this subject. It must! God tested Job and He will test all of as well. How will we stand up to His scrutiny? The Christian has been afforded the storerooms of grace as their aid, but it must be called upon daily if we are to overcome God’s inspection. Jesus has paid the price for our sins but we must learn to walk in His footsteps if it is to end well for us. This means that the trial of life will press in on us with its inscrutable vigour; it is duty bound and it will separate the wheat from the chaff; the call for the Christian is for us all to be changed into the image of our perfect Saviour whilst silencing the gainsayer.

Job was tested like no other, his seven sons and three daughters died, all his servants save a few were killed, all his livestock and wealth was taken from him, his body face server pain covered from head to toe with boils and his wife called on him to curse God for what they faced, which he rejected. But after he was stripped of his pride trying to understand it all, which on the surface is hard to find any actual arrogance when we reason as men but not when compared to God and His character. When confronted by God, this was his retort; “Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ’Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.' I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;” (Job 42:1-5)

God is the potter and we are but clay and there is so much we will never understand until we open our eyes in heaven and the sooner we humble ourselves before God, trusting His will for our lives regardless of what we are called to face along the way the easier it will become to front the hardships of life. Hope is a wonderful aid and it will sustain us in Christ.

Let us learn to put aside pride and its folly and let us echo the words of Job and it will be well with our souls; “therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 41:6)

Signing off

Tyrone