READING: Matthew 20-23
As I begin a new work week today, I want to make sure my heart and attitude are right for the tasks ahead of me. This is not usually a problem, but I always want to check my heart. Today’s Bible reading from the Gospel of Matthew pushes me to think in one primary direction: do I recognize Jesus’ recurrent calls to humility—and am I wrestling today with pride in any way?
Note these texts from today’s reading:
- “So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matt 20:16)
- “. . . whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:26-28)
- “The greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt 23:11-12)
Add on top of these verses the fact that Jesus most strongly condemned those who thought they were something—the religious leaders—and then welcomed the least expected—the blind, the lame, tax collectors, prostitutes—and I cannot help but be convicted about my pride. I must continually with God’s help guard against it. In the end, I want Jesus to say to me, “Well done” rather than “Woe to you!”
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you dealing with pride today? If you want to consider signs of pride, maybe this post I wrote years ago will help you.
PRAYER: “Father, make me humble.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Matthew 24-25
