More like Christ...less like me (Another ant story)...

From Spurgen's "Morning & Evening"…

"So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee." Psalm 73:22

Remember this is the confession of the man after God’s own heart; and in telling us his inner life, he writes, "So foolish was I, and ignorant." The word "foolish," here, means more than it signifies in ordinary language. David, in a former verse of the Psalm, writes, "I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked," which shows that the folly he intended had sin in it. He puts himself down as being thus "foolish," and adds a word which is to give intensity to it; "so foolish was I." How foolish he could not tell. It was a sinful folly, a folly which was not to be excused by frailty, but to be condemned because of its perverseness and willful ignorance, for he had been envious of the present prosperity of the ungodly, forgetful of the dreadful end awaiting all such. And are we better than David that we should call ourselves wise! Do we profess that we have attained perfection, or to have been so chastened that the rod has taken all our willfulness out of us? Ah, this were pride indeed! If David was foolish, how foolish should we be in our own esteem if we could but see ourselves! Look back, believer: think of your doubting God when he has been so faithful to you-think of your foolish outcry of "Not so, my Father," when he crossed his hands in affliction to give you the larger blessing; think of the many times when you have read his providences in the dark, misinterpreted his dispensations, and groaned out, "All these things are against me," when they are all working together for your good! Think how often you have chosen sin because of its pleasure, when indeed, that pleasure was a root of bitterness to you! Surely if we know our own heart we must plead guilty to the indictment of a sinful folly; and conscious of this "foolishness," we must make David’s consequent resolve our own-"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel."

The ants have come back. Mildly alarmed, I discussed it with Frank and I put down a "Terro Ant Bait." This morning, three days later, I checked out how our poison was working. It is working amazingly well…but there is still a diligent line of little red ants streaming into my house. They are marching toward their certain death, and they don't realize it. I observed them for a few minutes and realized that all around the "bait" are hundreds of dead little red ants. Live ants are even scurrying among the dead in search of the deadly elixir that calls them into the bait trap. You'd think they'd be alarmed by their dead brethren, but they didn't seem to be aware … or care, if they did notice them.

Then, I read the above devotion when I got to work. I thought of my foolish pride, I thought of the dead ants and I thought of the dead we scurry among on a daily basis. Of course, I'm talking about the spiritually dead…those who are physically alive, but spiritually dead and scurrying toward their certain eternal death, and don't even realize it. Then, there are those of us who are dead to sin and still living like sin has control over us.

Pride says, "I know what is best for me and how to accomplish what I want." Pride says, "I care more about myself than you, or them or those over yonder. " Pride says, to borrow a phrase from happy bunny, "it's all about me, deal with it." Pride is a deadly elixir that makes me compare myself to others around me, rather than to Christ Jesus. The result is I become puffed up and certain I'm doing pretty well, compared to you, or them or those over yonder. Pride chokes off love, flourishes like a weed and so entangles me, I become blinded to the world dying around me, or the hurting, lonely look of a brother or sister in Christ who needs to be encouraged, hugged or listened to. Pride causes me to look at the external and judge you, or them or those over yonder based upon what is worn, what is acted out, etc.

Pride is sin.

I have to confess to you that I am still very prideful. And, I bet you might be too. But, instead of judging each other, let us confess our sin, ask God to forgive us (and He will - 1 John 1:9) and focus our attention on Christ Jesus. Read what Paul had to write:

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:3-11 NASB)

Wow. I'll never be able to do this on my own. Thank You, Father, for giving me the Holy Spirit. I want to be filled and led by the Spirit so I can be more like Christ and less like me.

How about you?

I love you all.

Dogledanji!!!