www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Looking;down;instead;of;lifting;up;
tearing;down,;instead;of;building;up.
God hates it. He opposes that highly
lifted up self. He turns His back on
pride. We have seen much pride in
the;Christian;realm,;and;yes,;even;the
homeschooling;realm,;and;we;have;all
seen public individuals decline into
destruction. We even become pride-
ful when we see that fall, thinking
we;would;never;be;like;that—as;if;we
weren’t prone to sin ourselves. Re-
member;the;story;of;the;Pharisee;and
the;sinner:
“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that
they were righteous, and despised
others: Two men went up into the
temple to pray; the one a Pharisee,
and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this pub-lican. I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that I possess. And the
publican, standing afar off, would
not lift up so much as his eyes unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me a sin-ner. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the
other: for every one that exalteth
himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted”
(Luke 18: 9-14).
God opposes, abases (humbles): one
that trusts in himself that he is righ-teous,;one;that;despises;others,;one;that
believes;they;are;not;like;others,;and;one
who;exalts;himself;and;his;own;works;(I
fast,;I;give;.;.;.;)
God draws near, justifies, and exalts:
one;that;knows;he;is;not;even;worthy;to
come;close,;one;that;keeps;their;hearts
and;heads;bowed;low,;one;that;cries;out
for;mercy,;and;one;that;is;humble;and
recognizes;his;sin;before;a;Holy;God.
The;antithesis;of;being;full;of;self;is;dy-ing;to;self;and;allowing;the;life;and;at-tributes;of;God;to;flow;through;us.;It’s;a
humble;place;to;live.;One;of;the;character
traits;that;attracts;God’s;attention;is;hu-mility.;It;is;very;important;that;our;chil-dren;see;us;modeling;humility.
Modeling Humility
Our;children;are;sponges;when;it;comes
to;character;traits.;They;watch;and;lis-ten;and;then;emulate;what;they;see;and
hear.;They;learn;pride;from;us.;I;have
seen;hints;of;pride;in;my;children;as;they
look;down;their;noses;at;those;“less;for-tunate”;children;who;were;not;raised;as
they;were.;I;have;raised;Pharisees.;I;have
trained;them;in;it,;and;I;have;had;to;train
them;out;of;it.
Let;me;just;say,;there;is;a;big;difference
between protecting our children from
bad influences (which we should do),
and;projecting;a;bad;or;unloving;attitude
toward;those;influences.;We;must;love
sinners;the;way;Christ;did.;It’s;not;merely
an;issue;of;their;physical;proximity;to
our;children;;rather;it’s;an;issue;of;their
proximity;to;our;hearts.;We;can;stay;away
from;bad;influences,;but;instead;of;shun-
ning,;we;cover;them;in;loving;prayer;and
supplication.
When;our;children;come;to;us;with
something negative about those kids,
we shouldn’t model prideful judgment
and;condemnation:;“They;live;in;a;sinful
home.;They;go;to;a;wicked;school.;They
haven’t;been;taught;properly.;They;don’t
care;about;the;things;we;care;about.”;A
response that would model Scripture
would be, “Let’s sit down and ask the
Lord;to;show;us;how;to;pray;for;them.
Let’s;ask;the;Lord;to;work;in;their;fam-ily;to;orchestrate;the;same;kind;of;events
that;drew;us;to;Him.;Let’s;see;if;there;is
any;way;we;can;be;a;blessing.”;God;gives
grace;to;the;humble.;If;we;remain;humble
before;Him,;we;receive;His;grace;;there-fore,;we;can;extend;His;grace.
“Though the LORD be high, yet hath
he respect unto the lowly: but the
proud he knoweth afar off” (Psalm
138: 6).
“For the Lord taketh pleasure in his
people: he will beautify the meek with
salvation” (Psalm 149: 4).
“But let it be the hidden man of the
heart, in that which is not corruptible,
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of
great price” ( 1 Peter 3: 4).
Training the Heart
At;our;house,;we;teach;the;boys;to;hon-or;the;girls;by;letting;them;go;first,;or
holding;the;door;for;them,;or;giving;up
their;seats,;etc.;But;what;about;the;girls?
What;should;their;attitude;be?;Should
Children;are;sponges
when;it;comes;to
character.;They;learn
pride;from;us.
