Killing Pride & Cultivating Humilty

On Sunday morning at Meadowview we talked about the danger of harboring pride in our lives. I believe it was John Stott who said that pride is our greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend.
Several years ago I attended a conference where one of the breakout sessions was on the subject of Killing Pride & Cultivating Humility. That session was worth the entire conference, and over the next few days I want to share with you some practical suggestions for killing pride and cultivating humility. I must give credit where credit is due so I'll mention that this information was taken from C. J. Mahaney's tremendous book titled Humility: True Greatness. So without further ado, here is suggestion one:

1. Study the attributes of God. You see the more aware we become of the infinite distance that exists between us and God, the more humility we will experience and express. This distance is created by God's Holiness (purity, and also what I sometimes define as His 'differentness' - see Psalm 50:21) and our lack thereof. So the suggestion is to study the Scriptures and be humbled by the greatness of God. One of my favorite texts that I would encourage you to consider reading is Isaiah 40:9-31. Beyond scripture there are some great books: The Knowledge of the Holy (Tozer); Knowing God (Packer); The Pleasures of God (Piper); Gripped By the Greatness of God (MacDonald) also most Systematic Theology books have a section on the attributes of God (I recommend Wayne Grudem for this particular subject).

2. Every day survey the cross on which the Prince of Glory died. As was stated on Sunday, it is hard to be arrogant standing close to the cross. When we are close to the cross our own sin and need for forgivness is evident, therefore we are more apt to extend forgivness and grace to others. Apart from the gospel accounts of Jesus death here are some great passages to read: 1 Corinthians 1:8; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 2:8; Hebrews 12:2-3; Isaiah 53:4-5, 10-11. Beyond scripture there are some fantastic books: The Cross of Christ (Stott); Living the Cross Centered Life (Mahaney); The Cross He Bore (Leahy); The Murder of Jesus (MacArthur).

Let's chew on these suggestions for today and I will provide 2 more tomorrow.