"For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)
We can so easily fall into the sin of pride. While we are indeed redeemed sons and daughters of God and are thus rescued royalty, many of us think too highly of ourselves, and miss the mark on who we really are in Christ.
Some of us may not notice that, but we have already thought of ourselves more highly than we should. How did we do this? How could we think of ourselves more highly than we ought to?
Here are three ways we think of ourselves more highly than we should. Let's evaluate ourselves in light of these behaviors and repent of them, if we need to.
1) Complacency
Being complacent, or having congratulatory feelings and thoughts towards ourselves for our achievements, is a clear indication of this problem.
Complacent people have this "I can do" it attitude "with no need to prepare." They think they are capable of doing anything and succeeding in whatever they put their hands to do even if they have no foreknowledge about the matter and have not prepared for it in any way. This is plain pride.
2) Self-entitlement
There are others who think they are deserving of better treatment than others. It's easy to see all around us: drivers wanting to be given free rein on the streets, people pushing in front of the line ignoring those who have been standing there longer than them, dissatisfied customers speaking rudely to shop staff. If you come across a person oozing with a sense of self-entitlement, you'll know it's really unpleasant.
In the church, this can also be evident: talented people thinking they should be given the stage; others pretending that sermon about sin didn't apply to them, just to their neighbor - or their spouse!
3) Not recognizing and admitting our faults
When we consciously deny, reject, or fail to recognize our faults, mistakes, and obvious wrong decisions, that's a sign that we are thinking of ourselves higher than we should.
If we find it hard to say "sorry" even when the fault is ours, if we find it so difficult to bow our heads in apology simply because we think we are justified, that's just plain pride. If we have made a mistake, we should apologize. If we did something wrong and offended anyone in the process, we should say sorry. It's that simple.
Friend, in the words of the Apostle Paul, remember who you were when you were called. If we are anything at all, it's because Christ made us into something. So regardless of what we are capable of doing or being, all the glory goes to Christ.
