AN ARROGANT ATTITUDE
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: “‘n Attitude wat skrik vir niks”
I showed you some time ago that Jesus want us to be on guard and pray and not merely pray.
Today I want to share with you something that, if you look at Peter's actions, you can see that it is strongly related to: "Watch and pray."
My daughter Saricza has a cat and she always says: "Dad, my cat has a real attitude.”
So today I'm talking to you about the kind of attitude – a real arrogant attitude – that my daughter's cat has. Many people I know also have a wrong kind of attitude that is not to be find in a child of God.
No, this kind of pretentious attitude may never, ever be part of a child of God's character.
Jesus says:
MAT 11:29 “ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
My great hero Paul puts it this way:
1COR 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
You may of course reason that you are someone special, because so you are:
1PET 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1PET 2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
We are heavenly elect but we must not look down on other people. For as heavenly elect, we are enslaved in this world. Slaves/Servants of Christ:
1COR 7:22 For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ.
In my life as a slave of Christ, I always look up to Jesus and at the same time never look down on my fellow man and surely I may never look bigheadedly at myself in the mirror, thinking that I am better than others. Do you still remember how Jesus put it?
MAT 26:41 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
If we do not watch and pray, we can have this arrogant attitude.
We can, as in Peter's case, have an attitude that is so overconfident, yes, so much that our Lord can compare us to satan.
You know – at one point Peter was so audacious that he even told Jesus, his Lord, that Jesus’ was now talking nonsense and on that occasion Jesus compared Peter to satan. As we read:
MAT 16:21-23
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
One thing, as far as I am concerned, is very clear. If I have a arrogant attitude because of my race or my colour or my position or my possessions etc., it is impossible that the people will be able to see Jesus in me. If I have the attitude ‘I am a little higher than some people around me’, type of thinking of myself, I can at most have a double standard of godliness:
2TIM 3:2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
2TIM 3:5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
I want to encourage you. Be a watchful, praying, with an ‘I am a slave/servant of Christ’ attitude and you will make a huge difference around you, because the people will see Jesus in and through you.
EFE 4:1-3
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Greetings,
Sakkie