I remember hearing a preacher on a recording and somebody said you must listen to this man and let me know what you think of him. And 50% of the sermon was anecdotes and the anecdotes were so self-serving. This man was terrific. We had to learn about everything he was good at. We learned about how he was brilliant at this and brilliant at that, and in every interaction or conversation with people he had the most brilliant answers. The anecdotes did nothing but draw attention to himself, and he was a famous preacher in his day. But Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet should tell us that such a preacher is 100 miles off target and no kind of servant of Christ.
You hear in these days, these internet days, of preachers hiring publicists – some of these big time men. Publicists! The very opposite of the manner and attitude of Christ. These things tell us who we should avoid, who we cannot trust, who we cannot believe and so on. And yet it seems to me when you see those God-channels on the satellite television, that 90% of the people featured there are very boastful, very big, very self-applauding individuals, the opposite of Christ. You hear some preachers, and they shout so aggressively, and they bully and they intimidate their hearers and brow-beat them and domineer them. It is a new school of thought. It is the opposite of the way in which Christ teaches and it should warn us. Humility is a low view of self. That is what we cultivate.
Pride cannot love, and this is a sweeping generalisation, but maybe 80% of problems that arise between Christian husband and wife are due to pride in the one or the other. Pride can only love itself. It is so important to us to maintain humility. Pride lets devotions slide. Oh there are other things that contribute to this, but to let devotions slide and to watch the television instead means that you must have a lot of self-confidence. Something inside you says: This will not hurt me. I can do this for a few days. I can do this for a few weeks. Something inside you says: I am spiritually stable and strong. It is pride. Because if you were fearful, and I speak for myself too, if we were fearful and humble, we would not let it happen.