Heneni
Miss Independent
Ok so i was thinking about the different kinds of pride that there is. There is the obvious kind...the kind that boasts. But there is another kind....self-pity.
Boasting is how we respond when we imagine ourselves to be successful.
Self-pity is how pride responds to suffering.
(There is a difference between self-pity and grief)
Boasting is the response of pride in a strong heart
Self-pity is the response of pride in a weak heart.
Pride seems self-sufficient
Self-pity seems self-sacrificing.
Self-pity doesnt look like pride because it appears to be needy. It arises not from so much a sense of unworthiness but from a sense of unrecognized unworthiness. Its unapplauded pride.
Self-pity comes from a wounded ego. It doenst really want others to see them as needy but rather as heros.
Now jesus must have known about the dangers of self-pity. And i think that peter had a slight problem with it. When peter asked what he will receive for having given up all that he had to follow jesus, jesus said that nobody that gives up stuff for the sake of the kingdom will not get many things back. So there is no real sacrifice without gain, and therefore suffering isnt self-sacrifice it is rather, great gain. There are many scriptures that show that our suffering comes with great reward, so that no man can boast and say 'i have given up so much' and feel like they need to be applauded for it. Then man will get the glory not god. Giving up is inevitably receiving so there is no grounds to feel self-pity, or to boast in self-sacrifice when we give up anything.
And what about jesus himself. After all that beating and mocking and torture he went through on the cross, what did jesus say ''forgive them father for they know not what they have done'' . Jesus wasnt influenced by being unrecognized as the son of god. Jesus didnt sacrifice himself without looking forward to the reward. The price he paid was nothing in comparison to the glory that god was about to confer on him. His father put him above all rulers and authority for doing it. So jesus gave up his life, but he gained so much more. So there was no room for self-pity.
All giving is getting. So if giving means getting there is no room for self-pity.
Jesus did not loose his life, he gave it. Willingly. He said 'nobody takes my life'. He had the power to lay it down and to take it up. If jesus was a victim of circumstance he might have had the opportunity to become sorry for himself. But there was none of that. He wasnt a victim. He laid his life down himself. Self-pity always feels like it is a victim of circumstance. If jesus was a victim he would want retribution. But since he said 'father forgive them for what they have done' he was saying 'hey, you didnt do this to me, i let it be done to me'. Im not a victim here! He did not have pity on himself, he had pity on those who hurt him. When peter on occasion said 'lord have pity on yourself' jesus didnt much like that idea and rebuked him!
Its also why the commandment to love god is not burdensome. To love god means uncalculated reward!
Hebrews 11:26 Talking about moses
26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
We see that moses was looking forward to the reward. Hed rather suffer disgrace than loose his reward.
So suffering disgrace comes with reward.
Ephesians 6:8
because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Luke 6:35
35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
When you do good to your enemy you show that you are not a victim! And there is no room for self-pity then. When you do good to your enemies, you do so cause you know there is a great reward for it. Because...whatever good we do....we the Lord will reward us.
Any comments/ideas?
Boasting is how we respond when we imagine ourselves to be successful.
Self-pity is how pride responds to suffering.
(There is a difference between self-pity and grief)
Boasting is the response of pride in a strong heart
Self-pity is the response of pride in a weak heart.
Pride seems self-sufficient
Self-pity seems self-sacrificing.
Self-pity doesnt look like pride because it appears to be needy. It arises not from so much a sense of unworthiness but from a sense of unrecognized unworthiness. Its unapplauded pride.
Self-pity comes from a wounded ego. It doenst really want others to see them as needy but rather as heros.
Now jesus must have known about the dangers of self-pity. And i think that peter had a slight problem with it. When peter asked what he will receive for having given up all that he had to follow jesus, jesus said that nobody that gives up stuff for the sake of the kingdom will not get many things back. So there is no real sacrifice without gain, and therefore suffering isnt self-sacrifice it is rather, great gain. There are many scriptures that show that our suffering comes with great reward, so that no man can boast and say 'i have given up so much' and feel like they need to be applauded for it. Then man will get the glory not god. Giving up is inevitably receiving so there is no grounds to feel self-pity, or to boast in self-sacrifice when we give up anything.
And what about jesus himself. After all that beating and mocking and torture he went through on the cross, what did jesus say ''forgive them father for they know not what they have done'' . Jesus wasnt influenced by being unrecognized as the son of god. Jesus didnt sacrifice himself without looking forward to the reward. The price he paid was nothing in comparison to the glory that god was about to confer on him. His father put him above all rulers and authority for doing it. So jesus gave up his life, but he gained so much more. So there was no room for self-pity.
All giving is getting. So if giving means getting there is no room for self-pity.
Jesus did not loose his life, he gave it. Willingly. He said 'nobody takes my life'. He had the power to lay it down and to take it up. If jesus was a victim of circumstance he might have had the opportunity to become sorry for himself. But there was none of that. He wasnt a victim. He laid his life down himself. Self-pity always feels like it is a victim of circumstance. If jesus was a victim he would want retribution. But since he said 'father forgive them for what they have done' he was saying 'hey, you didnt do this to me, i let it be done to me'. Im not a victim here! He did not have pity on himself, he had pity on those who hurt him. When peter on occasion said 'lord have pity on yourself' jesus didnt much like that idea and rebuked him!
Its also why the commandment to love god is not burdensome. To love god means uncalculated reward!
Hebrews 11:26 Talking about moses
26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
We see that moses was looking forward to the reward. Hed rather suffer disgrace than loose his reward.
So suffering disgrace comes with reward.
Ephesians 6:8
because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Luke 6:35
35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
When you do good to your enemy you show that you are not a victim! And there is no room for self-pity then. When you do good to your enemies, you do so cause you know there is a great reward for it. Because...whatever good we do....we the Lord will reward us.
Any comments/ideas?
