____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ December 28, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Love Does Not Brag and Is Not Arrogant by Tom Edwards In considering what God's word says about love, we are shown not only what it is, but also what it is not -- as we can see in today's topic. 1 Corinthians 13:4 states, "Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up" (KJV). The New American Standard Bible renders this as simply, "Love does not brag and is not arrogant." According to the Scriptures, true love does not cause one to show himself a boaster or a braggart -- whether of real or pretended accomplishments. We will consider these two terms together, since they are so closely related. We might think of bragging as what is seen on the outside, while arrogance is that which occurs within. Or, in other words, we might think of arrogance as being the source from which bragging emanates. These terms are often seen together throughout the Bible. For example, in describing the conditions that would exist during the last days, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:2, "For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant...." Also, when Hannah had taken her young son Samuel to live with Eli the priest to be dedicated to the service of the Lord, she then prayed in 1 Samuel 2:3, "Boast no more so very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed." On the fair scales of the Lord's judgment, what do you think has more weight -- one's words or one's deeds? As Hannah mentioned, with God "actions are weighed." This is also seen in Matthew 21:28-31, in which a father asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard that day. The one said he would, but didn't. While the other said he wouldn't, but did (after he had a change of heart). "Which of the two did the will of his father?" is the question that Jesus then asked. As we can learn from the Old Testament, pleasing God requires more than mere lip service. Boasting, whether of real or pretended achievements, can get one into trouble. The story has been told about a certain pond in which two ducks and a frog spent some of their time and became good friends. When the hot summer days moved in, the pond began to dry up, so the ducks began to think about flying to a better location -- which they could easily do. However, they were concerned for their friend, the frog, and began to wonder how they could help him, too. It was decided that each duck would hold the same stick in his bill, so that the frog would be able to hang from it with his mouth, as the ducks then flew to their new location. While in the air, however, they were spotted by a farmer below who must have marveled at the sight. "Well, isn't that a clever idea!," the farmer said. "I wonder who thought of it!" The frog said, "I did...." (and thus ends the story). William Hutton once wrote that "The charity that hastens to proclaim its good deeds, ceases to be charity, and is only pride and ostentation." Jesus warned against this in Matthew 6:3,4: "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly." Continuing with this thought, hear Matthew 6:1: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your father who is in heaven." A word that appropriately describes the action of those who would practice their righteousness to merely be seen by others is the term "ostentation." It means "pretentious or conspicuous display intended to impress others." As we think about the lives of the scribes and Pharisees, could we not say that this word very accurately describes many of them? Jesus states of them in Matthew 23:5, "But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments." Concerning this and good deeds, Cicero, who lived prior to the time of Christ, wrote, "Whatever is done without ostentation, and without the people being witnesses of it, is, in my opinion, most praiseworthy; not that the public eye should be entirely avoided, for good actions desire to be placed in the light; but not withstanding this, the greatest theater for virtue is conscience." To know that we have done the right thing, regardless of whether other people know about it or not, should be our true satisfaction. In other words, we should take great pleasure in simply doing what God asks. This is truly how the psalmist was: "I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart" (Psa. 40:8). Some more of the Lord's warnings against ostentation are seen in Matthew 6: "When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full" (v. 2). "And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you" (vv. 5,6). Regardless of how obedient we are to the Lord, we are merely the Lord's servants and need to be cautious that we don't become conceited by our own obedience. Note the example of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 32:24-26: "In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill; and he prayed to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah." Hezekiah is remembered as having been one of the good kings of Judah, but look what happened when he allowed pride to interfere with his relationship with God: it hindered him from giving the Lord a "return for the benefit he received." In other words, Hezekiah did not show gratitude in any way toward what God had graciously done for him. Is not pride affecting many people today the same way? People sometimes become arrogant when they increase in knowledge, but don't also increase in love as well. Paul warns of this: "...knowledge puffs up, but love edifies" (1 Cor. 8:1). To help keep them in line, look what Paul goes on to say in verse 2: "If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know." Sometimes people become arrogant over their many talents, abilities, or power. King Nebuchadnezzar is a good example of this. His pride led to his dethronement and becoming temporarily insane (for 7 years) until he realized that God is the one in charge, and to whom Nebuchadnezzar should have thanked for his exaltation as a Babylonian king whose kingdom was above all other earthly domains. See Daniel 5:18-21 and Nebuchadnezzar's prideful heart in Daniel 4:29-31 that led to his temporary downfall. Often many people become arrogant when they see themselves as being so much better than others, but we must remember what Paul states: "For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding" (2 Cor. 10:12). I heard once of a little boy who came running to his mother, exclaiming that he was as tall as Goliath -- nine feet high! "What makes you say that?," his surprised mother asked. "Well," said the boy, "I made a little ruler of my own and measured myself with it; and I'm just nine feet high." As Paul showed the Corinthians, it is unwise when we start devising our own standards with which to measure our spiritual development -- rather than using the standard of God's word. An interesting lesson can be learned from Assyria, whom God refers to as "the rod of My anger" (Isa. 10:5-7). They, of course, were a ruthless, heathen nation who were doing what came natural for them in destroying the northern kingdom of Israel, and of which they boasted. As the king of Assyria said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this..." (v. 13). But this entire nation was being used as nothing more than a tool in the providential hands of God to inflict wrath upon the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C, even though the Assyrians were totally oblivious toward God's will in this matter. As verse 7 states, "It does not so intend nor does it plan so in its heart." But as to their boasting, note Isaiah 10:15: "Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?..." Assyria, in other words, was just an instrument of destruction that the Lord used against his wayward people. As Christians, we are not to be pompous and view ourselves as being more important than we really are. Paul writes, "For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). Edwin Chapin once said that "Pride is the master sin of the devil, and the devil is the father of lies." We are reminded that one of the qualifications of the elder is that he be not "a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the same condemnation incurred by the devil." Something "incurred" is something that one brings upon himself. Therefore, Satan's fall was due to pride. And is not pride involved in about every sin that man commits? For in pride, we are saying "no" to God's will, but "yes" to our own. Ungodly pride, therefore, causes us to put ourselves above the Lord; as we also see illustrated in the king of Babylon and the several very lofty "I wills" he had asserted in Isaiah 14:12-17. Pride or arrogance often causes one to magnify self and minimize others; and can, therefore, delude one's proper perception. As Obadiah shows, it was pride that became the downfall of the Edomites (Obad. 1:3-4). Some of the cliffs around the Edomites' capital, Petra, were 2,000 feet high. And the entrance into this almost impregnable city was only wide enough for a couple people on horseback, side by side, so the city could be easily defended. But though they felt invincible, God said that He would bring them down. Their pride had led them into a misplaced trust -- and one that could not save them. Solomon warns that "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling" (Prov. 16:18). We need to take heed to Paul's admonition in Romans 11:17,18: "But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you." Similarly, Jesus states, "I am the true vine...you are the branches..." (Jn. 15:1-6). What good, therefore, could we be without the vine? Jesus answers that for us in verse 5: "...for apart from Me you can do nothing." Therefore, whatever good we can do, the Lord needs to get the credit for it. To me, a very humbling verse, and one with which I'll close, is Luke 17:10: "So you, too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, `We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" May we each take to heart this great Bible truth that love does not brag nor is it arrogant, and to strive to make love that way in our lives. ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________