Tis
the season where arrogance is on display! The political ads are filled with
boastful politicians promising what they can do, and boasting about
achievements. Sports figures dance in end zones to celebrate a touchdown, while
linemen and blockers struggle back to their feet after making the achievement
possible. Celebrities strut down a red carpet as the spotlight focuses on their
acting made possible by creative directors, makeup artists, and stunt-doubles.
Celebrity preachers promote their books and conferences by highlighting what they
have achieved. Such preachers often eclipse the reality that God and
spiritually gifted members God gave to the church were the key to the church’s
success.
Is humility an endangered character trait
in this age of arrogance? When such a question is asked, one may postulate that
people are not arrogant, just confident. While it is true that there is a fine
line between arrogance and confidence, one must be careful not to confuse these
character qualities. There is a distinction. Arrogance is misplaced confidence
in how and why we achieve things. Arrogance trusts that what is about to be accomplished
will be achieved by the individual’s efforts alone. It presumes that past
achievements were due solely to one’s innate abilities. It assumes that one
therefore deserves accolades from others and merits appreciation for one’s
achievements. In the end arrogance focuses more upon oneself than it does upon
the benefit one’s actions have on behalf of others.
Confidence on the other hand trusts the
gifts and abilities that one has been given to accomplish one’s purpose in life.
Confidence understands that such enablement was given to be used wisely to
fulfill a specific mission and to be used to accomplish a common good.
Confidence is not concerned about self–advancement as much as it is about doing
what needs to be done.
Two characters in the Old Testament
illustrate the contrast between these two attributes. The battle scene in 1
Samuel 17 provides a backdrop where these two individuals with vastly different
traits are on display. Goliath parades out onto a battle field boasting about
what he assumed he could do because of his size, strength, military training, military
equipment, championship status, and how he compared to his opponents. He was
arrogant and defiant as he faced down the army of Israel and later encountered
a young shepherd boy, David. On the other hand there was David – unskilled in
warfare, unequipped for a traditional battle, and aware that his only credentials
were how God enabled him to be a successful shepherd in dealing with a lion and
a bear. Goliath was confident in himself. David was confident in His God
(17:37).
Goliath’s arrogance was expressed in
threating words, “Come here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field” (17:44). David’s words of confidence were in what
God could do through him, saying, “You come against me with sword and spear,
but I come out against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (17:45). The one arrogantly embracing
his abilities fell before the one confidently trusting in what God could do
through him. He saw God enabling him to fulfill his life’s mission for the good
of his nation. Goliath lost his arrogant head, and David conquered in the
confident power of His God.
Humility is the antidote to the arsenic of
arrogance. What does that humility look like?
Chris Tiegreen notes, “Having godly humility means being unassuming –
resisting the urge to seek every advantage for ourselves, promote our
interests, or defend our rights. We have to choose whether to be our own
advocates or let God advocate for us; to defend ourselves or let God defend us;
to force doors open or let God open them in His way and in His time.” He wisely
added, “The kingdom of God doesn’t have a ladder of success that we can climb.
It only has a floor on which we can kneel. In order to be lifted up, we must
descend into a position of complete dependence. Such humility is an affront to
our pride, but it is the only way to be lifted up.” There is a big difference
between arrogance and humility.
James, the oldest half-brother of Jesus, gave
this challenge: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up”
(James 4:10). He had seen firsthand the power of confident humility in Jesus,
who “humbled himself and became obedient unto death – even the death of the
cross” (Philippians 2:8). Jesus conquered by an act of humility, not arrogance.
What would happen in this age of arrogance if our culture was dominated by people
of confident humility?
