Home
>
Spirituality
>
Humility, Not Pride: Keeping Ice Off Your Bow

Humility, Not Pride: Keeping Ice Off Your Bow

Tony was a professinoal salt-water fisherman. He explained how he cruised out to sea each morning, coming back each evening with his catch.

"Is there a part of the year you can 't go out?" I asked. "The winter--too risky. Below freezing, the spray starts forming ice on the bow. The added weight makes the bow of the boat lie lower in the water. Inexperienced guys fishing in winter have allowed so much ice to build up on the bow that in heavy seas the bow starts to dip beneath the waves. One dip too deep, and she goes down. Only thing to do for it is to grab and ax and knock the ice off once in a while. If you forget and let it build up, you're dead."

Think of that bow-ice as representing sinful pride. Little by little it builds up until you can't stay spiritually afloat a moment longer.

Look at the Pharisees. They didn't intend to be so arrogant. Jesus called them blind because they were unaware they had this problem. But little by little their self-congratulatory attitude expanded their egos until their spirituality was shipwrecked.

We modern believers face a similar challenge. What can we do to knock off the pride weighting us down? Here are a few principles from Scripture.

I must regard others as better than myself (Phil. 2:3). As far as I can tell, I am forgiven a debt of millions of sins, compared my brother or sister forgiven only a few dozen (Matt. 18:23-35).

I must be willing to associate with the humble (Rom. 12:16). Or it could be translated, "Be willing to perform humble tasks." I learn humility by imitating it and by practicing it.

I must continually recognize my debt to the Savior: without Him I would be hopelessly lost (Rom. 5:6-8).

Little by little, day by day, let's keep the "ice" off our bows. Disaster awaits anyone who ignores this warning.

Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles on subjects of interest to Bible students. He has taught Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses Bible college, university, and adult education programs. He has taught seminars and workshops in 11 states and the Caribbean.

Go to his deeperstudy.org for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Sign up for Steve's free "DeeperStudy Newsletter."

detailed home cleaning Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

Humility, Not Pride: Keeping Ice Off Your Bow

Spirituality