Home
>
Spirituality
>
Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #2 Arrogance

Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #2 Arrogance

According to H. G. Bosch, the newspaper cartoonist H. T. Webster once amused himself by sending telegrams to 20 of his acquaintances whom he selected at random. Each message contained just one word: "Congratulations." As far as Webster knew, not one of his friends had done anything special for which to be complimented. Yet, each person was so flattered that he immediately wrote Webster a letter of thanks. All 20 of his friends assumed they had done something worthy of a congratulatory telegram!

Surprising? I think not. Whereas pride can be defined as an excessively high opinion of oneself; arrogance is the state or quality of being overly convinced of one's own importance. From a Christian perspective, arrogance is man's inflated belief in his own abilities that interferes with his recognition of the grace of God. In other words, we cannot see God, or experience God for we are too focused on ourselves.

In a sense, arrogance is like a weed that grows amid the beautiful roses and yet, it believes itself to be far more pleasing to the eye. The arrogant person enjoys being paramount and awards himself a high degree of importance. But arrogance is deadly and an enemy to the soul. It is an outward expression of an inward flaw. A bloated ego is the most serious obstacle to submission to God. It is the enemy within that prevents us from accepting God's omnipotence and absolute authority. Consequently, it is our own arrogance that stands between us and redemption into God's kingdom.

I am reminded of Jesus' prayer for Peter. Remember, at a certain point during the Last Supper, Jesus focused His entire attention on Simon? He tells him, "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail." Luke 22:31-32a. (NIV).

This is significant because Simon had become arrogant. He had gotten beside himself; self assured and over confident. He had become boastful and big headed. He exuded an air of superiority and certainty about himself. He thought he knew who he was and what he was about. He had become conceited and no one could tell him anything.

Simon had soared to great heights. He was the chief spokesman for the twelve, water walker, rock man, one of Jesus' inner circle, and prominent figure at the transfiguration. To himself, he was somebody. Simon was so inculcated with a sense of his own special importance that he even went so far as to assume he knew more about Jesus' mission than Jesus Himself.

This is why prayer is so important to the Christian life. We need prayer to overcome Satan. Satan got a hold of Simon and carried him on a hurricane ride through hell. He poisoned Simon's spirit and confused his mind and made him betray the most important person ever to come into his life.

Arrogance is one of many tools used by Satan. If we are not careful, he will use this tool to wreck our system of values, paralyze our spirit and ruin our capacity to reason. He can dull our conscience and transform our home from a place of peace and love to a wasteland of disturbance and discord. And, sometimes, for our own good God has to let Satan shake us and sift us for a time.

So whoever you are, regardless of how high you think you may be escalating spiritually, watch out, be cautious, don't indulge the enemy, and pray for humility. While you are climbing Jacob's ladder to spiritual heights, watch your footing. Because I have learned that even the roads to spiritual heights are paved with ice.

SIDEBAR NOTE: Winston Churchill once had a very arrogant cabinet member. When this person left the room one day, Churchill turned to the rest of his cabinet and said, "There, but for the grace of God goes God!"

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded Stop & Shop Mini Mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.

Blessings to all!

express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..

In The News:

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

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

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

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

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.

Mankinds Ten Worst Enemies: #2 Arrogance

Spirituality