James 4:6-7 (NKJV) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
It is hard to stay humble when we are wealthy and lack nothing. Pride often appears as defiance and a sense of entitlement because our hearts are lifted before men and God. We tend to talk louder and give our opinions more boldly because we think we know better than others.
Deuteronomy 8:11-12 (NJKV) “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgements, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;
Why does God resist the proud? We become very self-centred when we are proud, and sin is self-centredness. God cannot be central to our lives when we are reliant on ourselves rather than on God. We will not listen to Him when we are proud—it is a blind spot in our lives—nor can anyone speak into our lives. God clearly stated in the above Scripture that pride would creep in once we have built beautiful houses, increased our resources, accumulated wealth, and eaten to the full, because we will think it is our power and abilities that have gained us this wealth!
When we are prosperous, our attitude toward people changes. We might even begin to treat our stay-at-home spouse differently by belittling them and using sarcasm in our words, especially those who are the sole breadwinners. We may no longer think that we need to be accountable to anyone, including our spouse, because money is power, and we may ignore our responsibilities to family members and take them for granted. This is the beginning of treating our spouse treacherously.
Malachi 1:8 (NKJV) And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favourably?” Says the Lord of hosts.
We must remember to honour God with our best. We are reminded to be dependent on Him daily through honouring Him. It is an act of worship which keeps us humble and anchored.
In the above Scripture, the people reserved the best for themselves, offering their governors better gifts to gain favours. They gave to God out of a guilty conscience, doing what was required of them. Their reluctance to give caused them to provide the lame, sick, and blemished offerings to God instead of honouring Him by worshipping Him with the unblemished lamb. They have forgotten that God had blessed them and given them the power to gain wealth. Similarly, we can also be forgetful, ungrateful, and proud when our hearts are lifted up.
We can be very selfish. Pride is about self-glorification. We can give God the glory with our mouths, but our hearts and actions are far from Him. However, God will resist us when we are proud and selfish. Therefore, pride is something we need to avoid because it alienates us from God.
Sermon Series: Stay Humble in His Presence
神阻挡骄傲的人
雅各书 4:6-7但他赐更多的恩典，所以经上说：“神阻挡骄傲的人，赐恩给谦卑的人。”故此，你们要顺服神。务要抵挡魔鬼，魔鬼就必离开你们逃跑了。
当我们富足、毫无缺乏时，要保持谦卑实在不容易。骄傲往往表现为一种反叛的态度与理所当然的心态，因为我们的心在神和人面前被高举。当骄傲进入我们的心，我们就容易讲话更大声，更自信地发表意见，认为自己比别人更懂、更明智。
申命记 8:11-12 “你要谨慎，免得忘记耶和华你的神，不守他的诫命、典章、律例，就是我今日所吩咐你的。 恐怕你吃得饱足，建造美好的房屋居住，
为什么神要阻挡骄傲的人呢？因为骄傲使人以自我为中心，而罪的本质就是自我中心。当我们倚靠自己，而不倚靠神时，神就无法在我们生命中居于中心位置。骄傲的人不会听从神的声音——这是生命中的盲点——也不愿意让他人对自己说真话。神在上面的经文中清楚指出，当人吃得饱足、建造美丽的房屋、资源丰富、财富增长时，骄傲就会悄然进入，因为我们会认为这一切都是凭自己的能力与智慧所得。
当我们富足时，对待他人的态度也可能发生改变。我们甚至可能开始轻视家中照顾家庭的配偶，尤其当一方是唯一经济支柱时，言语中可能带着讽刺与贬低。我们可能认为自己不需要向任何人负责，甚至不再对配偶负责任，因为我们觉得金钱就是权力，从而忽视家庭的责任，把家人视为理所当然。这样的态度，正是开始以诡诈之心对待配偶的起点。
玛拉基书 1:8 你们将瞎眼的献为祭物，这不为恶吗？将瘸腿的、有病的献上，这不为恶吗？你献给你的省长，他岂喜悦你，岂能看你的情面吗？这是万军之耶和华说的。
我们必须记得，要以最好的来尊荣神。每天依靠祂，并以行动尊崇祂，是一种敬拜的态度，也帮助我们持守谦卑、扎根于祂里面。
在上述经文中，以色列民把最好的留给自己，却把次等的献给神。他们献祭不是出于敬拜的心，而是因着良心不安、勉强履行宗教的要求。他们不愿付出真正的代价，只将瘸腿、有病、残缺的祭物献给神，而不是以无瑕疵的羔羊来尊荣祂。他们忘记了，是神赐给他们祝福与财富的能力。同样地，我们也可能在心被高举时变得健忘、不知感恩、充满骄傲。
人的本性很容易自私，骄傲正是自我荣耀的表现。我们也许口里尊崇神，却在心与行为上远离祂。然而，当我们骄傲、自我中心时，神就必定抵挡我们。因此，骄傲是我们必须远离的态度，因为它使我们与神隔绝。
讲章系列：在神的同在里保持谦卑