Arrogance
READ: Psalm 17
Do you know any arrogant people? Maybe it’s the star player on your high school football, basketball, or volleyball team, always sharing with everyone how good they are. Maybe it’s the straight A math student who delights in letting everyone know she aced the test. Maybe it’s the kid whose dad owns a profitable business, and so he never has to worry about money or a summer job.
How about a “goodie-two-shoes”…do you know one of those? Someone who thinks they do no wrong, and is offended at even the suggestion that they’re less than perfect? At first glance, it may seem like David is pretty arrogant in Psalm 17, that he thinks pretty highly of all that he has achieved. He claims that his plea is righteous (vs.1 ), that his feet have not slipped from the path of God (vs. 5), and that God’s examination of David’s heart will find no sin (vs. 3). But carefully read verse 2 again, “May my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.” Vindication is another word for justification, which means to be shown as just or right. David understood by faith that anything he claimed about himself or anything he asked of God was rooted in the free gift of salvation through Jesus. His vindication came from God, not from himself. God’s eyes saw the righteousness Jesus imparted to David through faith, not the filthy rags that David's sinful body produced.
Arrogance is a dangerous sin that comes out of the proud heart of sinful humans. Confidence and peace with God is what comes out of Jesus’ precious gift of salvation by faith through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word, God has placed his righteousness on you, too. Look to Jesus, and acknowledging his rich grace and mercy, lay your requests before God. He promises to hear you. He promises to defend you. He promises to bring you to Himself.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: As a Christian, how should you treat arrogant people? How is someone else’s arrogance an opportunity to share Jesus with them? How do you guard against sinful arrogance creeping up in your life?
THINGS TO PRAY ABOUT: Thank God for the precious gift of salvation in Jesus. Ask God to protect you from the evil of the world. Ask God for humility that reflects your love for Him rather than for yourself.