Chapter Three
Number 1 on the Lookout

While "Conventional Wisdom Christians" are "looking out for No. 1," it is also tempting for them to be "on the lookout" for ways to rise above others. They do not always realize at first the multitude of ways that they can indulge themselves in such selfish pursuits, but they learn quickly. Teachers of Conventional Wisdom offer many justifications for their actions, based on what they call "practical experience." The God who created us marks out a much different trail for us to follow, but one of which many are unfamiliar because of a lack of Bible study. Even if we are familiar with God's revealed precepts, we may ignore or deviate from the path of God, judging it to be "impractical" in modern society.
Jesus even had to disabuse His disciples regarding their presumptions about "upward mobilism." He said to them, "You know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all. For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).
There are many examples of ambitious selfishness practiced by less-than-pefect "Christians." Their schemes and intrigues incubate and hatch some derivative applications, which also need to be exposed to "reality checks."
The devastating vice of pride claims many through the application of Conventional Wisdom. It is said by many of its advocates that a person must believe in himself, in order to "rise above the herd," in order to "get ahead," in order to maintain "self-esteem." Humility is not considered a virtue, but is ridiculed as weak, cowardly, and degrading. However, in opposition to pride, which claims so many souls, the Bible repeatedly ordains "HUMILITY!" Pride is rebuked only mildly in some Bible passages like Proverbs 11:2, "When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom." (Compare Proverbs 13:10). The Christian indulging in pride may view such verses as merely philosophical, to be weighed in the balance against Conventional Wisdom, but Solomon later comes on stronger, when he says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the plunder with the proud" (Proverbs 16:18).
Is personal destruction truly at the end of the road of pride, or is Solomon simply trying to create a "bogeyman" to scare those who practice it? He advises that humil-ity is better than sharing the plunder of the proud. But what "plunder," if any, is offered to the humble. Should not the humble have incentives, as well as the proud? Solomon says, "Certainly!" He offers the inestimable virtue of "honor" in Proverbs 29:23, where he writes, "A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor." But to the grand prize of honor he also adds "riches" and "life" in 22:4, saying, "The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah Is riches, and honor, and life." The type of "riches," and the kind of "life," are not defined, but the strong implication is that they refer to spiritual riches and life, which are more "real" than silver and indulgence. Compare the example of Moses, recorded in Hebrews 11:24-26. He chose "rather to suffer afflication with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward."
Jesus once attended a supper, and observing the way guests sought the customary places of honor, He said, "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:8-11). Solomon previously had written, "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a man is valued by what others say of him" (Proverbs 27:21).
Now it is possible that some proud person reading the admonitions of Jesus and Solomon, might say within himself, "I can take this advice, and sit low at the table, because my prestige is so great that I certainly will be asked to 'go up higher,' and the accolades that follow will feed my pride even more." The problem with this reasoning is that many who nourish their pride really have little reason to be proud. Their pride has no substance. If they indulged themselves in this sort of feigned humility, might discover that their self-delusions would be exposed.
Gideon, the great judge of Israel, lost none of his prestige when he magnified his virtuous humility by flattering some haughty swaggering Ephraimites. The story is captivating to the minds of those who truly wish to follow his example. When God had called him to lead Israel against the Midianites, he humbly begged to be excused, but was persuaded to submit himself to the command of God, and even allowed his original force of 32,000 men to be drastically reduced to only three hundred faithful followers. After he had routed the enormous enemy army, and was pursuing the survivors with an enlarged force from the tribes of Naphtali, Asher and Manasseh, he called for the Ephraimites in the high country to seize the fords of the River Jordan, in order to hinder the crossing of the retreating remnant of the Midianites.
After the men of Ephraim successfully defended some of the fords, and had killed two of the Midianite princes, they brought their severed heads to Gideon as trophies of their success. The two forces met, and immediately the swaggering Ephraimites angrily rebuked Gideon for not calling them at the first to be a part of his original army. The humble Gideon proved to be a skilled diplomat, and answered in a way that showed he was unconcerned about the maintenance of his own reputation. To quiet the rebukes of his accusers, he replied, "What have I done now in comparison with you?... God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and what was I able to do in comparison with you?" This humble diplomacy cooled the anger of the Ephraimites, and avoided strife within his army, but who now remembers the paltry deed of valor the proud boasting Ephraimites accomplished, in comparison to the overwhelming success of humble Gideon. In nearly every sermon and Bible lesson on this event, the exalted victory of the humble Gideon so overshadows the little skirmish of the haughty Ephraim-ites who rebuked him that it is not even mentioned in passing. (See Judges 6:1-8:3.)
A subtle spinoff of pride is complacency. The pride of the Pharisees, so often condemned by the humble Jesus, manifested itself in this attitude. They "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." This prompted Jesus to speak a timely parable about the complacency that is generated by pride. He said, "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a Publican (that is, a Jew despised because he had voluntarily become a tax collector for the oppressive Roman government, for profit). The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:9-14).
When pride reigns, complacency regarding our standing with God becomes proportionately distorted. In effect, we have examined ourselves, and have decided that we are better than others, perhaps the best. The apostle Paul warns about this attitude, when he said of himself, "...I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God" (1 Corinthians 4:4-5).
The same apostle arrayed examples of the failures of some of the children of Israel, after they had been delivered from Egypt, and after "all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea," warning us, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:1-12).
Another spinoff of pride is the spirit which causes a person to become a critic. The Reality Check for this attitude is found in divine commands to practice self-criticism. Inspired Scripture tells us that a reversal of the spirit of criticism can be accomplished by this method. Paul endured severe criticism of himself from some in the church at Corinth, and says in his reply, "I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced... I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare. since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you." Then he offers the alternative by which they could avoid his threatened reproof in the name of Christ; "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves" (2 Corinthians 13:2-5). Jesus' original instruction for this was spoken in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye;' and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:4-5).
Instead of self-criticism, however, many Christians nurture the proud assumption that they were put on this earth to criticize the behavior of lesser mortals. Feeling that they are above reproof, they often "prove" the faith of others, using their own well-developed opinions as the measuring rod. This opinion-shrouded faith is dogmatic, imitating the tactics of the medieval inquisitor, ferreting out heresy, instead of helping others to conform to "the Faith once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). This is manifested in a number of ways.
It is found in the criticism of those whose views, on things that have no spiritual consequences, are different from our own (see Romans 14:1-19). At the end of this discourse, Paul concludes, "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way... let us pursue the things which make for peace and things by which one may edify another."
It is also found in the efforts of some to build a partisan following around their perverse doctrines, as Paul predicted to the Elders of the church at Ephesus in Acts 20:29-30. He said, "I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."
And, it is found in those who generate strife in the church rather than being "peace-makers." According to Paul, leaders in the church must lend their efforts to a search for peace. He admonishes them to "Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:23-26). Seldom does this passage influence the way leaders of modern congregations settle matters of strife.
Finally, it is found in the desire to have dominion over others in the church, as Diotrephes did in 3 John 9-11. The Apostle said, "I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he does, prating against us with wicked words: and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbids and casts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: he that does evil has not seen God."
We all value our own opinions. Let's face it, we've spent years developing them, and it seems unworthy to keep such valuable stuff to ourselves, right? But there is a danger in making our own opinions the standard by which all men are to be judged. Who do we think we are, anyway? "Contending for THE faith," as Jude says, is far more profitable for others than contention and condemnation of others over our own opinionated version of that faith. No person is truly won to the Lord except by the word of God. Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day." But then He explained how the Father "draws" us. He said, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that has heard from the Father, and has learned, cometh unto me" (John 6:44-45). The word of Christians who have presumed to package the faith of Christ inside the envelope of their human opinion is not the standard of judgment. Jesus said, "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48).
So, neither "looking out for No. 1," nor being "No. 1 on the lookout," is pleasing to God. Humility is God's Reality Check.