The peril of conceit

Tom Crenshaw Feb. 17, 2025

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A young seminary graduate proudly strode up to the pulpit exuding extreme self-confidence. He began to deliver his first sermon at his new church, and the words simply would not come out. Finally, he burst into tears and ended up leaving the platform obviously humbled.

There were two older ladies sitting in the front row and one remarked to the other, "If he'd come in like he went out, he would have gone out like he came in."

Humility is a key quality of the one who wants to be a servant of God. There is always the temptation to exalt ourselves, and to glorify our own abilities and accomplishments, but to do so can be very dangerous.

In Acts 12 we read the consequences of King Herod's refusal to give glory to God.

"On the appointed day, Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, this is the voice of a God, not of a man. Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died" (Acts 12: 21-23).

The Lord is a jealous God, and He will not share his glory with man.

Isaiah writes, "I am the Lord; That is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols" (Isaiah 42: 8).

The best way to avoid the consequences of pride is to remember what F. B. Meyer once wrote. "I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves, one above the other, and that the taller one grew in Christian character, the more easily he could reach them. I now find that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other, and that it is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower."

Too bad poor old Herod never read F. B. Meyer. At least he had an excuse, but not us.

Let's keep stooping and who knows the gifts that we might discover as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Tom Crenshaw serves as Connections Pastor of the New Monmouth Baptist Church (non denominational) where he previously served as a three year interim.He has been married to Jean for almost 50 years, and they have four children, all of whom are teachers.Tom loves perennial gardening, umpiring high school baseball, coaching baseball and football, fishing for small mouth bass, rooting for his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, and listening to ‘real’ country music, the classic kind. Learn More »

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