We’re Not God

Welcome to today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional. Our reading is titled We Are Not God, and it was written by Amy Boucher-Pye. In Mirror Christianity, C.S. Lewis recommended asking ourselves some questions to find out if we're proud.

How much do I dislike it when other people snub me or refuse to take any notice of me or patronize me, or show off? Lewis saw pride as a vice of the utmost evil and the chief cause of misery in homes and nations. He called it a spiritual cancer that eats up the very possibility of love, contentment, and even common sense. Pride has been a problem throughout the ages. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God warned the leader of the powerful coastal city of Tyre against his pride. He said the king's pride would result in his downfall, saying, Because you think you are as wise as God, I am going to bring foreigners against you.

Then he would know he wasn't a god, but a mortal. In contrast to pride is humility, which Lewis named as a virtue we receive through knowing God. Lewis said that as we get in touch with him, we become delightedly humble, feeling relieved to be rid of the silly nonsense about our own dignity that previously made us relentless and unhappy. The more we worship God, the more we'll know him, and the more we can humble ourselves before him. May we be those who love and serve with joy and humility.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ezekiel chapter 28 verses 1 through 10. The word of the Lord came to me, Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, This is what the sovereign Lord says, In the pride of your heart you say, I am a god. I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas. But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god. Are you wiser than Daniel?

Is no secret hidden from you? By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud. Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says, Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god, I'm going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor. They will bring you down to the pit and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. Will you then say, I am a god, in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a mortal, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you.

You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of the foreigners. I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. Let's pray. Dear God, help us to be humble today because we know that pride causes us to sin and forget that all we have and are is because of your great grace and mercy. May we always remember to give you the glory and point others to you when we accomplish something admirable. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.