What Are the World's Tactics? (16)

16 For all that is in the world -- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life -- is not from the Father but is from the world.

Remember your castle. You want Jesus seated firmly on its throne. But the devil tries to appeal to your sinful desires with the world system he controls. He hopes you'll surrender to one of his tactics. And, though he carries out these tactics in billions of ways, he only has three temptations he uses over and over again. Let's look at each of them, in order, while thinking about how they particularly affect us, and how we can overcome each.

The Pride of Life

So far we have studied the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes. Lastly, John mentions the pride of life. Other translations call this the pride of one's lifestyle (HCSB), the boastful pride of life (NASB), or pride in our achievements and possessions (NLT). It is also translated as:

• Pretentious pride
• Arrogance
• Inflated self-assurance
• Empty show

These are cringeworthy phrases, but that doesn't stop us from succumbing to this temptation. If the desire of the flesh is the temptation to feel, and the desire of the eyes is the temptation to have, then the pride of life is the temptation to be. We want to be loved or famous or envied or worshipped or admired or widely respected. In short, we want others to think we're great (even if we're not great).

As theologian J.I. Packer wrote:

In this fallen world, where original sin in the form of pride, ambitious independence, and deep-level egocentricity has infected everyone, we all crave to be admired for strength in something... - J.I. Packer, Weakness Is The Way

This particular temptation is often given the oxygen it needs within the walls of the church. Jesus warned against doing our good deeds -- giving, prayer, or self-denying fasting -- to be seen by others. Take note: these aren't major temptations to the non-religious. In a drunken stupor at the neighborhood bar, people don't care if they are seen as generous, prayerful, sacrificial people, godly in every way. No, the temptation to be known as spiritual, as victorious over sin, as ultra-godly, is found inside the church.

And the pride of life urges us on in our desire to be seen. It tempts us to project something about ourselves, which is untrue, to highlight our best features so others will see us as successful, strong, independent people.

So much of this is for show, a mask to cover our sense of inferiority. Remember the Peanuts comic strip? One from way back has Lucy asking an anxious Charlie Brown what he is worried about. Charlie said, "I feel inferior." "Oh," says Lucy, "you shouldn't worry about that. Lots of people have that feeling." "What, that they're inferior?" Charlie asks. "No," Lucy replies, "that you're inferior."

We know we're not all that, but we like to project as if we are. Men, particularly, struggle with the pride of life. We don't show our need. We are often competitive by nature, and this follows us into comparing salaries, the square footage of our homes, or our spiritual service. But this competitive spirit can keep us from honesty about where our lives are really at. In short, the pride of life can blind you, causing you to walk around in the darkness. And the saddest part is that as you stumble through life, you might even begin believing the lie you've projected. The pride of life is a killer, men.

Antidote #3: Humility

This is why we need the antidote of humility. And I'm not talking about a "woe-is-me-I' m-so-worthless" faux-humility. I'm talking about biblical humility. Let me explain it in a few ways.

First, consider the Latin word humus, from which we get our word humility. It means, of the earth or the ground. You see, humility requires we remember our origin. We like to think of ourselves as self-made men, the champions of our own destiny, but reality will tell us this is a lie. God is the Creator, and He made us from the dust of the earth.

As Andrew Murray said:

Humility is simply acknowledging the truth of our position as creatures, and yielding to God His place. -- Andrew Murray, Humility

Remember your origin. We came from dust. God is the only One who hasn't. He gets the glory.

Second, consider the word honesty. Humility doesn't require some crazy twisting of reality. You might have to work yourself up quite a bit to admit, "I'm not that big of a deal." But if you say it to a friend, they'll reply, "I've known that from the first day I met you!" The honest truth is that our very lives are dependent upon a million factors of God's grace. This honest look kills pride.

Be honest about your life, even your successes. For me, I know everything I am and have is a gift, starting with my salvation. The wife and children I have, the home I own, the church I pastor, the building and land it occupies, the gifts and knowledge I have, the fruit we're seeing -- all of it has been a gift of God. And, often, those gifts came from Him through others — everything I have I have received. And I bet, if you took a look at your life, you'd see the same thing.

Third, consider the word humor, which also comes from humus. Think of it like this: stop taking yourself so seriously. Laugh at yourself. You aren't that impressive. When talking about yourself, if all you admit to is your successes, you won't help anyone. People need to hear the honest truth about your weaknesses and failures.

My daughters love hearing stories of my failures. As we laugh at decisions I made, attitudes I've had, or embarrassing moments in my life, they rejoice. They know I'm just a regular guy. This helps them put things into perspective.

So, consider humility. It must help us against the enemy of the pride of life. As an old devotional said:

The truth is this: Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you. -- Spirit of Prayer, Moreton Edition

You see, you can't handle the pedestal which the pride of life is trying to build for you. If you give in to the pride of life, when failure and criticism inevitably come, they will decimate you. But when humility rules the day, neither failure nor criticism comes as a shock. You already know you're not all that, and that Jesus is the only one worthy of praise.