Autum

Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost (1923)

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

http://gigglesgiggling.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html

What God says about pride & humility... Part 1

What God says about pride…

The way we respond when we are confronted with our sin reveals the condition of our heart.

“If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud… If you think you’re not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed!” C.S. Lewis

Proud people…
- Focus on the failures of others
- Have a critical, fault-finding spirit (makes fun of others weaknesses)
- Look at other’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope
- Are self-righteous
- Are independent, self sufficient spirit
- Have to prove they are right
- Claim rights, have a demanding spirit
- Are self-protective of their time, their rights, their reputation, (and their needs)
- Desire to be served – desire to come first
- Desire to make a name for themselves
- Desire self-advancement
- Have a drive to be recognized & appreciated
- Are wounded when others are promoted
- Feels confident in how much they know
- Are quick to blame others
- Are unapproachable or defensive
- Find it difficult to share their needs (spiritual and physical)
- Wants to make sure no one finds out when they have sinned
- Have a hard time saying they were wrong
- Tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin
- Are concerned about the consequences of their sin
- Are remorseful over their sins only after they have been caught
- Wait for others to come and resolve a conflict
- Are blind to their true heart condition
- Don’t think they have anything to repent
- Often thinks someone else needs to hear the sermon rather than themselves
(Taken from Seeking Him Study)

Proverbs 16: 18 – 19 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
Proverbs 28:25 “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.”
Hab 2:4 “"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”
Psalm 10:4 “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”
Proverb 8:14 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.”
Proverb 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”
Proverb 29:23 “A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.”
James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

What God says about pride & humility... Part 2

What God says about humility…

“Humility is a virtue more often praised than sought.”

“They that know God will be humble; they that know themselves cannot be proud.” John Flavel

“I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidences that He is indeed our Master.” John Newton

“Humility is the displacement of self and the enthronement of Christ. Humiltiy means Christ is all and self is nothing.” T.A. Hegre

Humble people…
- Are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need
- Are compassionate; can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven
- Esteem others better than themselves
- Have a dependent spirit; recognize their need for others
- Are not argumentative
- Yield their rights; have a meek spirit
- Are self-denying – put others needs before their own
- Are motivated to serve others
- Are motivated to be faithful and make others a success
- Have a sense of their own unworthiness; are thrilled that God would use them at all
- Are humbled by how much they have to learn
- Are not concerned with self at all
- Are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately
- Accept personal responsibility and can see where they are wrong in a situation
- Receive criticism with a humble, open spirit
- Are concerned with being real; what matters to them is not what others think but what God knows – are willing to risk their reputation
- Are willing to be open and transparent
- Once broken, don’t care who knows or who will find out – are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose
- Are quick to admit failure and seek forgiveness
- Are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin
- Take the initiative to be reconciled when there is a misunderstanding or a conflict in relationships, no matter how wrong the other may have been
- Compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel desperate need for His mercy
- Walk in the light of truth
(Taken from Seeking Him Study)

“For everone who exalts himself will be humbled and he would humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

“Do nothing from selfishness (contentiousness) or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in (among) yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (utilized/asserted), but emptied (laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on (of) a cross.” Phil 2:3-8