A few late-night thoughts on humility and pride

This blog is a reflection and an elaboration of other thoughts after having read Josh's blog.

A question I have is, Why didn't Jesus go minister to the rich? After all, they needed salvation too. I guess after writing out the question, it seems easy to answer :-P They had their ideals and the system was working for them, so they didn't think they needed Jesus; in fact, Jesus' teaching was turning the whole system upside down. He was a threat to their belief system. They were not ready for Jesus' message because they were prideful. I catch myself becoming puffed up in my Bible knowledge instead of being overwhelmed by God's grace. I certainly don't deserve to have a relationship with the Almighty God, but because of his grace I can enjoy that fellowship! I should not be proud of how much I am learning and pat myself on the back; rather, I need to take what I am learning and use it to boast about how good God is. The religious leaders prided themselves on how well they knew the scriptures and how perfectly they put the law into practice. Jesus took the socially low and the outcast who realized they were sinners, and turned them into recipients of His grace -- and they couldn't help but tell others about their experience!

Some thoughts from others:

"I think Christians use Jesus Christ as a shortcut for being right, and in the process they bypass becoming humble or wise." ~ McLelan

"Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." ~ C.S. Lewis

"The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." Psalm 51:17

"True humility is knowing you are completely reliant on God." ~ Tom Aldrich

"God creates everything out of nothing -- and everything which God is to use he first reduces to nothing." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

"Shall I, Lord Jesus, dare to speak to you, I who am but dust and ashes?" ~ Thomas a Kempis