“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 18:1-3)
The disciples seemed to regularly struggle over the title of “Greatest in the Kingdom.” In other words, they struggled with pride. This can be hard to process because many of us have a distorted view of the disciples as already sanctified and wearing their saintly crowns. After all, they were sitting at Jesus’ feet. They had dropped everything to follow him. They were doing it!
All of that is true. But they were normal people like us. They didn’t immediately “get it.” They had to process Jesus’ teaching about pride (and everything else!), and grow in their understanding and sanctification. This story about their pride shows they didn’t immediately get it. And it reminds me that too frequently I don’t get it, either!
It is so easy to allow pride to eat us alive. And this lesson for the disciples lands on me … heavily.
Pride is an interesting sin because it can present itself in very different ways. The loud, boisterous braggart or a shy, timid person can both be infected with pride. One just seems more obvious than the other. The organizational leader who somehow makes every employee recognition celebration about himself is filled with pride. The world-class pianist who quietly assures onlookers that he can hardly play the piano may surely be letting his pride show through false humility.
Jesus’ antidote to the sin of pride is almost funny. One of the last things a proud adult would choose to be is a child. Yet, Jesus said that the disciples would miss the kingdom of heaven if they didn’t “turn and become like children.” Jesus didn’t mean to be childish; he meant to be humble and dependent on God in the sense of Psalm 20:17 – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
So much more could be said about pride, but absorbing the above is probably plenty for today.
Father, please help me recognize and then eradicate the pride that is buried deep in my heart. Help me to be humble and recognize my dependence on you. Amen.
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