King of the Jungle?

The lion was proud of his mastery of the animal kingdom. One day he decided to make sure all the other animals knew he was the king of the jungle. He was so confident that he by-passed the smaller animals and went straight to the bear. "Who is the king of the jungle?" the lion asked. The bear replied, "Why you are, of course" The lion gave a mighty roar of approval. Next he asked the tiger, "Who is the king of the jungle?" The tiger quickly responded, "Everyone knows that you are, mighty lion " 

Sometimes (even though very few of us admit it),  we feel like that lion... puffed up, boastful, and sure of ourselves.  We move from scenario to situation with our heads held high, chest out, and our arms bent to facilitate patting ourselves on the back...

I did this.

I earned this.

Look at me.

You aren’t as good as I am.

Or maybe it’s more subtle...

Insisting that our name be listed first on a report.

Making sure we always have the last word.

Having to be right all the time.

Talking about ourselves during every conversation.

The Bible is very clear about pride... 

“And all of you, serve each other in humility, for ‘God opposes the proud but favors the humble.’" 1 Peter 5:5b

At first glance, it just looks like God doesn’t like pride.   That it just bothers Him.  Look again.  It says that God OPPOSES the proud.

He stands against them.  Not the pride in their hearts... it says that God opposes THEM. 

And until hearts change, the situation stays that way... and we don’t receive the blessings that He is able and willing to give.  

Our lion’s story continues:

Next on the list was the elephant. The lion faced the elephant and addressed his question, "Who is the king of the jungle?" The elephant immediately grabbed the lion with his trunk, whirled him around in the air five or six times and slammed him into a tree. Then he pounded him onto the ground several times, dunked him under water in a nearby lake, and finally dumped him out on the shore. The lion--beaten, bruised, and battered--struggled to his feet. He looked at the elephant through sad eyes and said, "Look, just because you don’t know the answer is no reason for to get mean about it!"

Pride can make us feel beaten up... but so many of us refuse to believe that a BIG ego has taken over our hearts.  We can only say it isn’t there for so long... and if this is something we struggle with...I pray that we place humility and love where selfishness and self-importance now live.   

How do we defeat pride?  By remembering.

Remembering that God made us... and that we aren’t perfect.

Remembering that we are called to be servants.

Remembering that our goal is to further God’s Kingdom rather than our own agenda.

Remembering that God’s grace for us is meant to be shared with others that hurt us.

Remembering that we aren’t supposed to be anybody’s Savior...Jesus has that covered.

We’re not the king of the jungle... let others boast about us if they choose... but let’s decide to be thankful for our abilities, genuinely humble, and give glory to God for what He has graciously given us the opportunity to have and accomplish.  

The blessings come when we figure out that we don’t have to live like the lion in our story today... is it any wonder why a group of them is called a pride?

Boasting

Lee Dye, a columnist for ABC News, told a story about a rather interesting former colleague.   He said, “A reporter I once knew sashayed across the newsroom one day with his colossal ego draped across his chest, just as an old veteran mumbled, ‘I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”

There’s a fine line between confidence and ego... in believing in yourself and believing yourself better than others.  And if left unchecked, we can begin to believe our own hype.  The Bible warns us against this in Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”   Scripture tells us to check our arrogance.... and if we feel the need to boast, we should choose to do so about God’s greatness and not our own.  Why?  It’s not because He has a desire for affirmation...He is far from insecure.  Instead, we should praise God because He is worthy of our praise.  He gives us everything... every talent, opportunity, and resource... why not take those same hands we use to pat ourselves on the back... and lift them toward Heaven praising the One who makes all things possible.

Worth

Lee Dye, a columnist for ABC News, told a story about a rather interesting former colleague.   He said, “A reporter I once knew sashayed across the newsroom one day with his colossal ego draped across his chest, just as an old veteran mumbled, ‘I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”

There’s a fine line between confidence and ego... in believing in yourself and believing yourself better than others.  And if left unchecked, we can begin to believe our own hype.  The Bible warns us against this in Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”   Scripture tells us to check our arrogance.... and if we feel the need to boast, we should choose to do so about God’s greatness and not our own.  Why?  It’s not because He has a desire for affirmation...He is far from insecure.  Instead, we should praise God because He is worthy of our praise.  He gives us everything... every talent, opportunity, and resource... why not take those same hands we use to pat ourselves on the back... and lift them toward Heaven praising the One who makes all things possible.

Your Greatest Competition

A former chaplain of the US Senate, Richard Halverson once said... "Want to be a winner? Compete against yourself, not somebody else. Outrunning your rival doesn’t mean you ran your best race. You can win over another and still not fulfill your potential. It’s true in all of life. To be your best, you must compete with yourself. It’s life’s biggest contest.”

In Galatians 6, the Bible says, "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions.".   One of the biggest barriers to personal success is the comparison of ourselves to others.  You are the only one qualified to be you... and that’s what God made you to do!    Are you ready to move forward and improve?  Stay in your lane, check your own motives, work on improving yourself, and remember... your only real competition is the you of yesterday.  Keep moving forward!

Seatbelt

Then heavyweight champion of the world Mohammed Ali was sitting on a plane getting ready to take off.  The flight attendant recognized him and gently walked over to ask him to put on his seat belt.  His response?  “Superman don’t need no seat belt.”   The attendant stopped a second looked the formidable man squarely in the face and replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane either!”

There are many who treat God the same way.  God asks something of them… and they tell Him they don’t need to do it.  He gives them instruction through His word… and they shrug it off.  Pride makes them believe that they are self-sufficient… that they are in complete control of their direction with little need for restraint.  Psalm 10:4 tells us “In his pride, the wicked man does not seek him;  in all his thoughts there is no room for God”

Ali couldn’t fly on his own… and neither can we.  God is in control.  He knows best.  And when He tells us that it’s going to get a little bumpy…we need to put on that seatbelt… sit back… and thank Him for the ability to fly.  

Making the Right Call

At the start of the 2012 football season, the league was forced to put replacement referees on the field as a result of a contract dispute with the real crew.  The fill-ins worked throughout the first part of the season… and made many mistakes.  Maybe no bigger than the ending of the Green Bay Packers vs. Seattle Seahawks game.  In it, the Seattle quarterback threw a desperation pass toward the end zone in the closing seconds of the game.  A Green Bay defensive player intercepted the ball, but the stand-in ref called it a touchdown for Seattle…costing the Packers the game.   When interviewed afterward, the confused referee said that he would not have changed the call even though every replay showed he was clearly in error.

Many of us are just like that referee.  

Sometimes we don’t want to admit when we’ve made a mistake.  Even when it’s obvious.  The crowd points and we turn a blind eye.  The replay shows it… and we turn off the tv.  We blow it… drop it… miscall it… and mess it up.  But why is it so hard to admit our mistakes and make them right?  It’s simple.  Pride.  James 4:6 tells us that “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”   Find yourself in a situation where you’ve missed the mark?  Made a mistake?  Humble yourself.  First admit to God how you’ve blown it… then make it right with those you’ve hurt.  God will bless your obedience and you will begin to heal immediately.  Admitting there’s an issue is one thing… making it right, while not always easy, is the always the correct call.