New Name for This Blog

     After four quite solid months of working on this blog, I have rather shamefully neglected it for some nine months. I've been busy with a lot of translation work that the Lord has blessed me with, and also been quite heavily involved in the Creation Liberty Evangelism forum and church. My personal life has also got a little interesting lately. Anyway, one of the things I have never been happy about when starting the blog was its name. The name of the blog was simply a Scripture reference. However, I have now hit upon a new and hopefully more memorable name. After doing some research to ensure I wasn't inadvertently copying anyone else's blog name, I have decided to rename this blog to Not Conformed.

    The verse that has inspired the new name is Romans 12:2, which states: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

    Christians are not meant to conform to the world. A couple of other passages show us that God and the world don't mix:

     "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4)

    "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 John 2:15-17)

     The closer I get to God, the more I find that I am not conforming to the world. Indeed, there is much already in this blog that does not conform to the world. For example, the world says that homosexuals are "born that way" and that we should give them some sort of special treatment because of that. I agree with what the Bible says: that it is sin, that people who commit the sin choose it (so it's not inherent), and that it is against God's natural design for the body. Therefore, I do not conform to the world's position, but God's.

    The world also wants us to believe that men who think they're women really are women, and that women believing themselves to be men actually are men. It would have us believe that men can get pregnant (a "pregnant man" is still a biological woman). I agree with the Bible that people dressing in the clothing of the opposite gender are an abomination to God (Deuteronomy 22:5) and that God has created everyone male and female. Once a man, always a man. Once a woman, always a woman - no matter how you want to dress or what weird things you want to do to your body to make yourself appear more like the opposite gender. Once again, I do not conform to the world on this point.

     The world says that women should have the right to choose whether to let their unborn children live. A baby in the womb is supposedly a mere "foetus" and bunch of cells. But I believe that life begins at conception, and that an unborn child is just that: a CHILD. (This isn't just in the Bible either - millions of ultrasound scans now serve as additional witnesses to the truth of an unborn baby's humanity.) As such, to kill it in an abortion is murder, for that is the shedding of innocent blood. Even if a woman is raped (undoubtedly a horrible crime), it's not acceptable to kill an innocent baby for the crime that its father committed. (How about executing the rapist instead? The feminists ought to get right behind that one.) In my absolute conviction that abortion is murder and one of the most wicked things anyone can do, and that moreover God judges it severely in due time, I do not conform to the world.

    The world says we should believe in evolution, whereby everything magically evolved over millions of years after some mysterious "big bang". I believe the Bible when it says that God created the entire world in six literal days and nights. So when it comes to the origins of life, I do not conform to the world. 

     The world claims that there are many paths that lead to God, whereas I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. The world also says that truth is relative, whereas I believe that truth is absolute, and that God's Word is truth (John 17:17). Here too then, I do not conform to this world. 

    The world reckons that climate change will cause its end. I agree with the Bible that there will always be summer and winter, and cold and heat for as long as the world exists, and that when it DOES end, it will be in the manner prophesied in the Book of Revelation. Moreover, I am firmly of the view that man-made climate change is largely, if not entirely, a hoax. So on this matter too, I do not conform to this world.

    And while the Bible does not specifically prohibit vaccines, the world sure seems to love them, especially this newfangled COVID-19 vaccine. So much so that they want to force people to have them against their will in some places. I do not agree with such coercion. Nor am I convinced that the COVID-19 vaccine is much good at all. So in my position on vaccines, especially the COVID-19 ones, I do not conform to this world.

    The reason I do not conform to this world on this and other matters is because I seek to obey the Bible, which is my final authority for all faith and practice. The world hates the Bible, so in my very love for God's Word, I once more do not conform to it. The Bible is renewing my mind from years of brainwashing by the mainstream media and other forms of popular entertainment. And it is transforming me - into someone who is, in the eyes of the world, a nonconformist. The more obedient you are to God and His Word, the more you too will become someone who, like me and like this blog, is "Not Conformed" to this world - its values, customs and teachings. In my first new post after this one, I will elaborate more on what true Biblical nonconformity is, especially where it concerns government mandates and the like. So keep an eye out for that soon.

Pride Month Day 13: Pride Brings Down Kings

     For today's Pride Month post, I am going to do something slightly different and use two passages, albeit from the same book of the Bible (specifically, the Book of Daniel). The Bible reveals that the pride of great leaders like kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and so on can bring them down. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the great kings of ancient Babylon, the fall that resulted from his pride was spectacular indeed. He lost his sanity for a while, although it was then restored to him. When you witness the lunacy that is now part and parcel of daily life (such as people being censured for stating basic biological facts or using standard phrases like "Ladies and gentlemen"), it seems like the pride of people today is being judged in a somewhat similar fashion. Anyway, the first passage I am going to quote is an observation by Nebuchadnezzar after he got his sanity back, then some follow-up remarks by Daniel when he was addressing Belshazzar, the successor to Nebuchadnezzar.

    "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase." (Daniel 4:37)

    "O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will." (Daniel 5:18-21)

     Let's have a look at what Nebuchadnezzar said. Notice that he speaks of "those who walk in pride". When the Bible talks of "walking in" something, it means doing it habitually. If you are literally walking, you are moving along steadily in a particular direction. You may not be moving very fast, but you're progressing steadily all the same. There are a number of Scriptures that command us to walk in God's ways or His statutes. Conversely, the lost are said to "leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness" (Proverbs 2:13). Somebody walking in pride is just constantly proud, and pride governs everything they do - their hopes and dreams, how they interact with others, how they view God, how they see their sin (or more often, don't see it) and so on. They think very highly of themselves, and often have a low opinion of those around them (including those they flatter). Nebuchadnezzar was certainly someone who used to walk in pride. So much so that he had a large statue built (of himself I think) and made it a law of the land that everyone should worship it! But God humbled him by causing him to lose his sanity for a period of time, and when he recovered again, he was a changed man. The same God who could humble a king as powerful and arrogant and Nebuchadnezzar can humble anyone who "gets too big for their boots". Indeed, there were other proud people in the Bible who were humbled by God in a variety of ways, and some of them (like Haman, Jezebel and one of the Herods) died humiliating deaths.When you are ruled by your pride rather than by God's Spirit, you are heading for a very great fall.

    The second passage makes it clear that pride, like other sins, stems from the heart. Nebuchadnezzar's heart was "lifted up". James says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." (James 4:10) But people who walk in pride lift themselves up in their hearts. See also how pride is a sin of the mind. Proud people tend to have their minds full of high and lofty thoughts. Indeed, let's have a look at the state of Nebuchadnezzar's mind when it was hardened in pride: "The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30) See how Nebuchadnezzar's focus was entirely on himself. This is how it is with proud people. As Christians, however, we learn not to entertain such lofty thoughts: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) But those who walk in pride do not want to cast down lofty imaginations that exalt themselves against God. On the contrary, they entertain them and act upon them. But take note, the God who can humble kings, presidents or other great leaders who become excessively proud can also humble you. However, because He is gracious, he gives you some time to repent. But you don't know how long it might be before He decides to humble you, or when your appointed time to die comes. Right now, in your pride, you may think you are invincible, but it is often those who feel the most untouchable who are ripe for the hardest falls. So before God humbles you (and one way or another, it will happen someday), humble yourself before Him in repentance and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. You may still say, "Never!", but the day will come when the knees of even the most unrepentant proud people will bow to Christ and confess Him as Lord. So make wise use of the time God has given you now to get right with him, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Pride Month Day 12: Pride Leads to Shame

     For today's Pride Month study, I am going back to the Old Testament, and specifically, the Book of Proverbs (which is my favourite book of the Bible - I just love all the pearls of wisdom it contains. Don't get me wrong, I love the whole Bible, but Proverbs is a book I am particularly fond of). Here it comes:

    "When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)

     A major reason why shame tends to follow pride is that pride tends to make people do stupid and foolish things. For example, a person's pride may make them think that they can drive recklessly without consequences - until they crash and injure or kill themselves. Or perhaps they might fall for a con because in their pride, they thought they couldn't be deceived (con artists can sometimes play up to vanity as well). Another way in which pride may cause shame is if somebody boasts about something and then the opposite happens. For example, in the 1970s English cricket captain Tony Grieg (who later became a commentator on Australia's Channel 9) bragged that he would make the touring West Indian team "grovel". The West Indies went on to win every Test of the series. By the last game, Grieg himself was "grovelling" to the West Indian supporters in the crowd! So at least he took his embarrassment with good grace, but the fact remains that in his pride, he made a fool of himself and was comprehensively humbled. Many false preachers, especially in the Charismatic movement, have made decidedly boastful "prophecies" and then been exposed as charlatans when they did not come to pass. Another example of pride preceding shame is when a person talks up their righteousness and then gets exposed as an adulterer or some such. For example, a few years ago in New Zealand we had a party called the Christian Heritage Party. It went through a few leaders, but its last leader before it broke up was Graham Capill. He was a great moral campaigner and once stirred up popular anger by calling homosexuals perverts. While this description was actually correct, Capill was subsequently exposed as a child abuser and convicted on several counts. So he was a pervert himself, just a different kind. Before his fall, there was a self-righteous air about him that was evidence of pride in his heart, and that pride certainly resulted in great shame for him.

    One way in which pride has come before shame in my own life is that sometimes, I have had a tendency to be a "sore loser" in competitive situations. Instead of being gracious in defeat, sometimes I have behave petulantly. The core reason for this was pride, and specifically, wounded pride. And often on such occasions, I would be reprimanded (rightly so!), and thereby would feel ashamed and come down off my high horse. The point is though that pride motivated that disagreeable behaviour on my part and led to shame when people got angry with me (with complete justification). There have been times too when I have corrected somebody only to discover that I had misunderstood them or misread their comment. In my pride, I thought they just weren't very bright and needed my "wisdom", but I ended up looking the fool I was acting like.

    Speaking of wisdom, notice who has it in this verse. Not the proud, but the LOWLY. The "lowly" are quite simply those who are humble in spirit. When people are humble (which comes after repentance of sins towards God), He graciously grants them wisdom. The lowly know what their limits are, and when to keep quiet. If they do speak up, they know how to speak with grace, even though some of what they say may be seasoned with salt. The lowly may sometimes be mocked by the proud, but they will never experience the shame that always follows pride sooner or later. The world might set great store by pride, but the wisdom that the lowly can obtain is of far greater value. In fact, in God's eyes, pride has no value at all. Solomon understood the value of true godly wisdom, and I'll close this post with his counsel about it: 

    "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." (Proverbs 4:5-9)

Pride Month Day 11: Pride Is One of the Building Blocks of the World System

     When the Bible talks about "the world", or "this world", it usually means the world system that is part and parcel of the world we currently live in. The spiritual head of this world system is the Devil, who is called "the prince of this world" three times in the Gospel of John. The world, in this sense, is not the same as the earth, although there are other contexts in which "world" and "earth" would be synonymous (e.g. going on a journey "around the world" means travelling around the earth). God created the earth we all inhabit, and it belongs to Him. "For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." (1 Corinthians 10:26) However, the Word of God makes it very clear that God and the world (as in the system ruled by Satan) are diametrically opposed. For example, James says, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4) The opposition between God and the world is such that to be friends with the world (which basically means conforming to its customs and values) is to be enemies with God. That is how opposed they are.

    Another passage that shows the sharp distinction between God and the world is the one we're going to look at for Day 11 of this blog's Pride Month series. This passage comprises two verses, and the second verses lays out the "building blocks" of the world system. It shows the main spiritual foundations of the world. And guess what? One of those foundations is pride.

    "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16)

     James tells us not to be friends with the world. John goes a step further and tells us not to love the world. Whereas James says that friendship with the world puts you at enmity with God, John says that if you love the world, you don't have the love of the Father in you (and if that is the case, you're not saved, which puts you in the enemy camp). Then John gives us those three key building blocks. Firstly, the lust of the flesh (such as illicit sexual desire, or cravings for food, alcohol, drugs and so on). Then comes the lust of the eyes (coveting beautiful things, or ogling a seductively-dressed woman and suchlike). Last but most assuredly not least, we have the pride of life. And that is what we're going to delve into a little more closely now. But the first important thing to note about it is that like the other two "building blocks", it is not of God, but of the world.

     Pride is at the heart of so much that goes on in the world. Think about sports for instance. What do athletes feel when they win an Olympic gold medal? PRIDE. What do the people of that athlete's country feel about it? PROUD. There may be other emotions, but pride is the foundational one. When an actor or actress wins an Oscar, or Emmy, or BAFTA, or Logie, or some such prestigious award, their main emotion is pride. Likewise if a musician wins a Grammy. The people who make the most obscene amounts of money in the world are often ones who either entertain us (fulfilling the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes in the process) or who make us proud. In the case of many sports stars, they may both entertain AND make us proud. When you think about it, it's actually quite ridiculous that people can get paid millions of dollars just for throwing or kicking a ball around. Sure, some of them may be rather good at it, but at the end of the day, they're just playing a game. Yet they get paid these absurd sums to do so. But when they win that coveted trophy like the World Cup or Super Bowl, or a Grand Slam event, or whatever it might be, everyone gets a lovely big "pride fix". The fans of the victorious individual or team can bask in the reflected glory and get a huge feel-good dose of pride. (Of course, the fans of the losing team often feel sad and angry, and some even riot due to wounded pride.) And really, it is for their ability to provide this pride fix which people crave like a drug that these elite athletes earn their millions. The world worships such people. Why? It's not like a lot of them are even very good people. In fact, you don't have to look far to find all sorts of stories about wicked sins that elite athletes and entertainers have got up to. Well, the real reason the world loves these people so much is because of all the pride they generate when they succeed. Being able to feel proud matters an extraordinary amount to people in the world. The world is addicted to pride the way many people get addicted to drugs and alcohol. In many ways, pride IS the world's drug.

     Many of our hopes and dreams also have a basis in pride. I once entertained fantasies of being a best-selling author. Pride was at the root of that dream. I am sincerely glad nowadays that I did not succeed (because I did actually write a couple of books, and I genuinely enjoy writing). Had I achieved the fame I dreamed of, I shudder to think how puffed up that might have made me. Other people dream of being TV stars, or rock stars, or elite sportspeople, or company CEOs, or being elected Prime Minister or President. Some of these dreams are sincere, while others may be idle fantasies (I will admit that while I have no intention of running for office, I have entertained a few "What would I do if I were Prime Minister" daydreams.) Other dreams may be slightly less lofty, but there could still be a pride element to them. Even in our hobbies, there can often be pride involved. For example, people who collect things (looking in the mirror here) can become proud about the size of their collections or about rare items in their collections (guilty). Or when people play games, they often get into arguments, essentially because one person's pride is hurt due to losing. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that so much of what we dream about or actually do has pride at its very core. However, if you look at the true saints in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, what was their main desire in life? To SERVE GOD and DO HIS WILL. They were no longer motivated by their own pleasure or pride, but by pleasing God. This is one of the biggest points of difference between loving God and loving the world. When you love God, you seek His will and His glory. When you love the world, you seek your own will and your own glory, because in a lost state, your pride is the thing that matters most to you.

    One thing I have noticed about all the pride that's in the world is that people often care more about their image than about right or wrong. Or they care more about the image of their idol. From my recent reading of two books by Lady Colin Campbell, I have learned that the British aristocracy has a code that "it doesn't matter what you do, but what you are seen to be doing". In other words, to them it does not matter if you commit fornication or adultery, or some other sin, just don't let it become public knowledge. The Royal Family operates like this too. This wicked way of thinking is really rooted in pride. To be caught in a sin and have it publicly exposed means shame and humiliation. That hurts the pride. Rather than repent of their sins, these people prefer to cover them up and put up a front so they can keep looking good on the outside. Sadly, many professing Christians are like those aristocrats. They put up a holy and righteous front to appear good in front of others, but behind closed doors, they are as wicked as any unsaved person (because they're actually unsaved themselves). Jesus describes such people as follows: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." (Matthew 23:27) They are like that, essentially, because of their pride. They would rather put up an appearance of being righteous than actually be righteous. When they appear good, other people praise them. That in turn inflates their pride. Which is what they really want. They want to receive praise and glory from men.

    Anyway, there is much more I could say, but I am trying to keep these Pride Month posts reasonably short. But the purpose of today's post has been to show how pride is actually one of the key building blocks of Satan's world system. It underscores an enormous amount of the world's most prized activities. Pride has no place in the Kingdom of God. A key building block of the latter is humility. The Lord Jesus Christ was humble during His time on earth, and we should follow His example. One of the key aspects of Christ's humility was that He sought His Father's will and not His own, and that is how we should also live as Christians. Instead of asking, "How will doing this make me look better before others?", we should ask, "What would the Lord have me do, and will this thing I want to do please Him?" Be clothed in humility instead of wearing pride like a loud and ostentatious shirt. I'll leave you with this from Peter: "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5)

Pride Month Day 10: Don't Hang Out with Proud People

     Psalm 101 is a kind of "resolution Psalm", because in it, David makes a whole lot of resolutions about how he is going to live his life as a man of God. Among other things, he resolves to sing of mercy and judgement to the Lord, behave wisely and walk in his house with a perfect heart, set no wicked thing before his eyes, not associate with wicked people, employ faithful people, not associate with liars and swiftly punish evildoers. (Remember that David was a king and so had lawful authority to do that last thing.) This Psalm gives Christians plenty of food for thought, especially Verse 3, which talks about not setting wicked things before our eyes. Also, the Psalm has several things to say about the kinds of people that Christians should avoid associating with. Now when I say that, I mean have close fellowship with. Obviously, you have to talk to people to witness to them, and you can't avoid doing business with unbelievers. However, merely going to a shop that happens to be owned by an unbeliever and buying something from them does not constitute fellowship. You might make a little small talk with them, especially if you are a regular customer, but that is still not fellowship as such. David gives an example of fellowship in Verse 7: "He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." (Psalm 101:7) When you fellowship with people and have close association with them, that often involves them coming to your house, or you going to theirs. You see them at close quarters on a regular basis, and in that sense, they tarry in your sight. In more modern parlance, they're people you "hang" with.

    The verse we're going to examine today provides another type of person that Christians should not "hang" (or "hang out") with. This is part of the Pride Month series, so you can probably already guess where this is going:

    "Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer." (Psalm 101:5)

    Actually, there are two kinds of people mentioned there, but obviously, I want to focus on the second. Briefly on the first: people who privily (secretly) slander their neighbours are what the Bible calls talebearers. In more modern terms, they're gossips. But the kind of gossip they spread is both malicious and untrue. Now there are times when evil needs to be exposed in order to hold a perpetrator accountable and provide justice to those who have been wronged. There are also times when exposing particular evils is in the public interest. However, people who gossip are not interested in exposing evil. They don't care about justice or what is best for society. They just want to stir up trouble, and this is what the Bible condemns. The thing about slander is that it involves false accusation. Here is a simple example of the difference between legitimate exposure of evil and malicious slander. Legitimate exposure: "John's daughter has just come to me and told me that he beat her up. There are clear marks and bruises on her body and I think we need to call the police." In this hypothetical case, John has done an evil thing to his daughter. She has confided in a trusted neighbour, and that neighbour consults with another person about what to do next. In this case, the neighbour is not gossiping or slandering, but trying to do the right thing to protect an innocent girl from further harm. Now for an example of malicious slander: "Hey, guess what? I saw Jim getting pretty cosy with his daughter the other day. They were hugging and stuff. Very suss. Spread the word". In this case, Jim is a normal father expressing normal affection for his daughter. There is nothing untoward about what he is doing, but in the mouth of a slanderer, it could easily be turned into something it's not. The motive of this person is to make trouble for Jim and make an innocent person appear guilty of something they wouldn't dream of doing. A person who behaves like this is someone to steer well clear of. Besides, if they slander other people to you, one day they will slander you to other people as well.

     OK, now to examine the second kind of person to stay away from. David says that he will not suffer (allow or tolerate) people with a high look and a proud heart. A "high look" basically means a haughty or lofty expression. We have all seen people with what you might call smug facial expressions. They look like they're full of their own importance and consider themselves to be Very Important. It is this type of expression, which conveys smugness and arrogance, that could be termed a "high look". In this case, such a look reflects pride in the heart. And someone who has such a degree of pride in their heart that it's written all over their face is not someone that a Christian should be associating with.

     Why should Christians stay away from proud people? Well for one thing, the Bible is clear that God wants us to be humble. Even in our saved condition, humility does not tend to come naturally to us (because of the corrupt body we still inhabit), which is why the Bible regularly tells us to humble ourselves. But if you're always hanging out with proud people, it can be contagious. The Bible warns us, "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Corinthians 15:33). In other words, if you have regular fellowship with someone who is proud, arrogant, boastful etc., it will rub off on you sooner or later. There is a well-known idiom, "Birds of a feather flock together". A saved Christian and an unsaved proud person are not "birds of a feather". So you won't be able to "flock together" for very along, unless you make yourself more like them. Which is often what happens. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we tend to copy the behaviours and attitudes of people we fellowship with to make them like us more. But if you copy someone's pride and arrogance, that is going to corrupt your Christian manners. It will adversely affect your testimony and displease God, resulting in chastening.

    We cannot avoid proud people altogether, but we should avoid fellowship with them. Not only unsaved ones either. Sometimes born-again Christians can get pride in their hearts, and until they repent of that, they are not good company to keep either.

Pride Month Day 9: God Will Silence All Proud Tongues Someday

     Two books in the Bible that have quite a lot to say about pride are Psalms and Proverbs (although there are plenty of other books in God's Word that deal with it as well). For today's Pride Month devotion, I am going to turn once again to the Book of Psalms. Here is the passage we'll be examining:

    "The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?" (Psalm 12:3-4)

     A tongue that speaks proud things is essentially a tongue that boasts. Many people brag to glorify themselves. They don't always brag directly about themselves though. For instance, a mother who boasts about her child's proficiency in something is still glorifying herself indirectly, because the child's accomplishments reflect on her as a mother. So with her words she might say, "My son is the smartest boy in the school!" or "My daughter is the best dancer in her ballet school!", but behind that, her meaning is, "I'm such a great mother to have raised kids as brilliant as these". In fact, parents who push their children into certain things and drive them to win are doing to because they want the reflected glory of their child's achievements. Or when somebody boasts about their sports team, they are indirectly glorifying themselves by dint of being a supporter of that team. They want some of the team's glory to rub off on them. Why do people get so wildly excited when their team wins a major championship? Because as supporters, the team's glory rubs off on them, and they want to bask in that vicarious glory. Conversely, you see people getting angry when their team loses an important game because of wounded pride. Now the team's shame is also reflected on them to some extent, and that hurts their pride. Moreover, the supporters of the other team can now gloat over them. More injury to pride.

    However, plenty of people also do talk themselves up. The late boxer Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) uttered one of the most famous boasts of modern times when he said simply, "I'm the greatest!" When the Washington Redskins won the 1983 Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins, running back John Riggins, that year's Super Bowl MVP, said in an interview after the game, "Ron (Reagan) may be President, but I'm the king". Donald Trump was renowned for his boasting while President of the United States. On Fox and Friends for instance, he said, "I would give myself an A+" when asked for an assessment of his presidency. Concerning COVID-19, he said in January 2020, "We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. It's going to be just fine." (That one certainly didn't age well.) He had a rather high opinion of his intelligence too, saying on one occasion, "Sorry, losers. My IQ is the highest and you all know it." And that is just scratching the surface of all the boastful things Mr Trump has said about himself. You may chuckle reading some of these quotes, but God is not amused by such bragging, because all pride is offensive to Him.

    A more 21st-Century version of boasting is virtue signalling. For example, "I stopped eating meat because I really care about climate change". (The logic of that being, meat comes from cows, cows break wind, this contributes to the "carbon footprint", and basically we're all going to die in a few years because all those cows passing wind are going to cause catastrophic changes to the climate. Never mind that cows have been around for over 6,000 years now, and the earth has remarkably managed to survive their flatulence all this time.) Or the trend of "taking a knee", which is a way of saying "I'm against racism". However, it is also a way of saying "What a good person I am - please admire me for my stand against racism". Virtue signalling is not only a form of boasting, but very often involves hypocrisy. But in any case, the aim is to make oneself appear righteous before men and thereby receive their applause. While the term virtue signalling is not in the Bible, the concept certainly is. "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." (Matthew 6:1-2) Verse 2 is where we get the term "blowing your own trumpet", which is exactly what virtue signalling is. Pride underscores every act of virtue signalling. It's all about putting up a front of righteousness in front of men: "And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." (Luke 16:15) Virtue signallers, you might be able to impress other people (although many can see through it), but God knows the true state of your hearts and what your real motives are.

    There will come a time, however, when God is going to silence all tongues that speak proud things. Also note what is said about "flattering lips". Just as the Bible does not have one good word to say about pride, it also has nothing good to say about flattery. The thing about flattery is that it is insincere. "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak." (Psalm 12:2) People who flatter say one thing, but in their hearts they have another agenda altogether. "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet." (Proverbs 29:5) One of the things flattery does is inflate pride. A person who has their pride inflated by flattery will tend to like the flatterer as a result. Consequently, they will be more inclined to trust the flatterer, and then the flatterer will have that person where they want them. In reality, flattery is bait to lead you into a trap. And what makes you take that deadly bait? PRIDE. Don't fall for it.

    Notice that proud people believe their words alone will give them some sort of victory, and sadly they are often right. Why do people believe so many lies today? Because of the WORDS spoken by proud people who say, "Who is lord over us"? Such people answer to no one but themselves. In the end however, they will answer to God for all their bragging, and flattering, and evil words. When they stand before the Great White Throne to give account for everything they have said and done, their boasting mouths will be stopped. All their bragging that has so impressed men will count for nothing when they stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are a person with a tongue that speaks proud things, repent and believe on Christ today. Turn your boasting into cries for mercy. Use your tongue to praise God instead of yourself. Humble yourself before God while there is still time, because one day, regardless of how much bragging you do, your time will be up. Which is now also the case with this post.

Pride Month Day 8: People's Pride Deceives Them

     As we embark upon the second week of Pride Month, let's take a look at a passage that highlights a major reason why people are deceived: pride in their hearts.

    "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD." (Obadiah 1:3-4)

     If you wonder how people can believe all sorts of falsehoods, and be lured into all manner of crazy cults, and also how they often seem to refuse to see reason even when you lay everything out clearly for them, the Bible has the answer. The simple reason why so many people are so incredibly blind is because of pride in their hearts. Actually, pride in the heart can sometimes be a hindrance to born-again Christians too. Thanks be to God, we have spiritual understanding and discernment that we lacked prior to salvation, but that does not mean we can't be deceived. Indeed, there are a number of verses in the Bible that expressly command us not to be deceived! If it were no longer possible for us to be deceived after being saved and receiving the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, there would be no need for such commandments.

    The thing about pride is that it makes us think we know best, or at least better than the other person. So when someone comes along and says, "You're wrong about such-and-such", what tends to happen is that our pride gets wounded and then we retort, "No, I'M right and YOU'RE wrong!" I am being a bit simplistic, but these are the underlying attitudes of most religious arguments. In fact, this applies to pretty much any type of argument. Even when someone proves that their position is the correct one using reasoned arguments, logic and sound Scriptural references (if that someone is a Christian), pride will often make their opponent refuse to concede defeat. No matter how comprehensively their false doctrine has been proven as such, they find ways to cling onto it regardless. The problem at this point is not in the mind. It's the pride in the heart. That is what blinds people and keeps them in deception.

    Many false doctrines appeal to pride. A good example is works salvation. If you could actually be saved by your own works, you would have something to be proud of. And this is why many people who think they are saved by works are also extremely proud and self-righteous. Hence the Bible tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) As beautiful a thing as salvation by grace is though, many people miss it because when you realise that salvation is a gift and there is nothing you yourself can do to earn it, your pride ends up getting hurt. You think, "Surely there must be something I can do to contribute to my own salvation!", and thereby you become vulnerable to all manner of heresy. This is what lures people into all sorts of false religions and cults. These things appeal to pride. And pride is what keeps them there too. After all, few things are guaranteed to hurt your pride more than to realise that you have been greatly deceived and perhaps even wasted a great deal of your life following that deception.

    Pride in the heart also often prevents people from seeing their own sin. Have you ever met someone who refused to admit that they were at fault for anything? Even when it was patently obvious that they were? I know I have. Let's be honest, all of us can be that person sometimes, but there are nonetheless people who take it to extremes, in that they really believe they are never in the wrong at any time. It always has to be someone else's fault. Or if there is nobody to blame, then it must be the fault of circumstances. But their fault? How dare you even think such a thing, let alone say it out loud! Such people are, quite simply, deceived by the pride in their hearts. They just have more pride than the average person, I think. However, even a person with only average pride will still struggle to get on their knees and confess their sins to God. So even if they don't have so much pride that they cannot see when they have wronged other people, they may still be blind to their lost condition and remain oblivious to how much they have wronged God. Incidentally, there are many verses in the Bible instructing us to humble ourselves. Humility is a prerequisite for approaching God. You must be like the publican in Luke 18 crying out to God for mercy, and not like the Pharisee in the same chapter boasting about all his good works. But the pride in our hearts bucks against being like that publican. Confessing that you are a sinner, and confessing specific sins, really knocks pride for a six (or if you're American, hits it out of the park). We all like to imagine we're good people, and so acknowledging our sinfulness and need for a Saviour, facing the reality that we cannot save ourselves, is a hard thing to do precisely because of our pride.

     As I said before, even when a person gets saved, pride can still be a problem sometimes. One of the ways in which a Christian can be uniquely affected by pride is when you study the Bible and God starts to reveal some truth to you. You grow in knowledge and understanding. This is a really good thing! However, if you're not on your guard, that knowledge can lead to pride. Indeed, the Bible warns us about this. "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." (1 Corinthians 8:1-2) I love that last part. It is a good reminder that even when we do gain some understanding, we still know very little about God and His ways, really.

    Pride is also a hindrance to Christians when witnessing. It certainly has been to me. There have been times when, in my pride, I thought I could win someone to Christ by my powers of reasoning. I have actually thought that mere intellectual debate would do the job, not properly understanding the spiritual nature of it all. For example, I remember one time getting into quite a heated argument with a Mormon missionary who started on at me in the street, and you will not be surprised to learn that he did not get saved that day (although he didn't make me a Mormon either - it was a stalemate, basically). I have confessed it to God, and I confess it here, my attitude that day was frankly appalling. I was all puffed up and thought I knew it all, and that he was just not very bright for believing all that false Mormon doctrine. Indeed, part of the problem was that I thought I was cleverer than him and acted like a smug know-it-all. In this respect, frankly, I was no better that day than an atheist who scoffs at Christians and thinks themselves smart and rational, while they esteem the Christians to be gullible idiots who need the atheists to enlighten them. And why did I act like that? Because, pride. Which is also why scoffing atheists behave as they do.

    There have sadly been other times when the pride of my heart made a mockery of attempts to witness to people. But the Bible does give us guidance on the right way to witness. This passage in particular is key: "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

    The word "strive" there means argue or quarrel. It is the verbal form of the noun strife. But while strife is still in fairly common use, strive has somewhat lost its old meaning and usually means something like "try really hard" nowadays. Mind you, the modern meaning has some application here too. Sometimes, you can try too hard to convince someone about the Gospel, and then striving in the older sense starts to happen. Closely related to strife is contention, and remember in a recent Pride Month post, I examined this verse in Proverbs: "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." (Proverbs 13:10) If you give into pride when witnessing, and the person you're witnessing to then gets puffed up in their own pride, contention and strife will soon follow.

    Now, when we witness, we are guaranteed to come up against this roadblock: pride in people's hearts. This pride will make them resist the Gospel message. But if, at this point, we let our own pride take over, the battle will be lost then and there. Which is why it is so important to preach MEEKLY. Whatever knowledge and understanding we may have, we must instruct MEEKLY, and be GENTLE in the process. Even then, there is no guarantee that the person we are witnessing to will be saved. The pride in their hearts may be too great. However, if we are meek and gentle in our witnessing, they may just begin to see the truth. If we obey God and stay humble, He may use our meek demeanour to break down the pride in the hearts of those we witness to, or those who scoff at us. But if we get prideful, even a person who might have been open to the Gospel when we started talking will get completely turned off Christianity, maybe even forever. Pride can be catching sometimes. When one person gets puffed up, the person they are debating with tends to do likewise.

    So if you have ever wondered why people seem to be so easily deceived, especially nowadays, well now you have your answer. It is because of the pride in their hearts. This pride makes the deception attractive in the first place, because the best deceptions usually appeal to pride in one form or another. It also makes people resistant to the truth of the Gospel, because to admit that your own belief system has been wrong and that you have lived your life based on lies is going to really, really hurt your pride. Admitting that you are a sinner deserving of God's judgement also stings the pride a lot, which is why so many don't want to ever make that confession. But pride can be a problem for Christians too sometimes, especially when witnessing. And just as pride in the heart leads to unbelievers being deceived, that same pride can cause Christians to be deceived by things as well if we're not careful.

    Essentially, the more humble you are, the more truth God can teach you. Staying humble can also help you guard against deception, because if you start allowing pride to take root in your heart rather than praying about it and confessing it whenever you detect it, your chances of being deceived will skyrocket, while your chances of winning any souls to Christ will plummet. So if you don't want to be deceived, crucify that pride daily!