The folly and wickedness of pride!

"Who makes you different from anyone else?
What do you have, that you did not receive?
And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
1 Corinthians 4:7

1. "Who makes you different from anyone else?"
This question strikes at the very root of pride. It reminds us that we are not self-made. If we are in the least way better than others--it is not ultimately due to our efforts or virtue, but to the sovereign blessing of God. He ordains our birth, abilities, opportunities, and circumstances. If we are more gifted, more knowledgeable, or more useful than others--it is not because we earned or deserved it. The moment we imagine that we are inherently better, we dethrone God as the Author of all that we are and have. Pride blinds us to the fact that every distinction between one sinner and another, is the result of God's gracious and undeserved choice. As Paul says elsewhere, "By the grace of God, I am what I am!" 1 Corinthians 15:10

2. "What do you have, that you did not receive?"
Pride feeds on the delusion of self-sufficiency. But this question exposes the truth: everything we possess--physical health, intellectual capacity, spiritual understanding, and every earthly or heavenly blessing--has been received. We brought nothing into this world, and we will take nothing out. Even the faith by which we are saved is "not from yourselves, it is the gift of God!" (Ephesians 2:8)
If we are saved, sanctified, and sustained, it is only because God has blessed us. The truly humble heart acknowledges that all is of grace, and therefore gives God all the glory. To boast in your superiority, is to forget the sovereign Potter, and exalt the vile clay!
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