Tuesday 10/28/14

Tuesday’s Recap summarizes the previous evening’s Pizza and Prayer. If you couldn’t join us last night, or if for some strange reason you can’t remember what happened (amnesia?), here’s what you missed:

No matter what the wrong, never harm your neighbor or go the way of arrogance. Odious to the Lord and to mortals is pride, and for both oppression is a crime. Sovereignty is transferred from one people to another because of the lawlessness of the proud. Why are dust and ashes proud? Even during life the body decays. A slight illness—the doctor jests; a king today—tomorrow he is dead.

Sirach 10:6-10

During this past Sunday’s Patriots game, Lamarr Houston, defensive end for the Chicago Bears, sacked Tom Brady’s backup, Jimmy Garoppolo. It was a good play, but it should not have been a big deal. The Bears were losing to the Patriots by 25 points. Their defense had been anemic at best, and it was the fourth quarter. The patriots had already begun pulling starters to prevent injuries to key players. The game was essentially over.

That did not stop Lamarr Houston from celebrating, though, and during his celebration, he tore his ACL.

Arrogance.

Today’s reading is all about arrogance and how it harms us and the world around us. It blames the sin of arrogance for all violence. It is actually right to do so. You cannot steal from someone or hurt someone unless you decide that you and your needs are more important than them and their rights. If you believe that someone is just as important as you are, then you would not be able to justify wronging them for personal gain. Instead, we get caught up in the moment. We lose sight of others and become egocentric. We think, “What about me?” We get entitled. We start to believe that we somehow intrinsically deserve good things without putting in any effort.

No one is immune to it, not you, not me, not any of the Saints. At some point, arrogance gets the better of us. It is part of the human condition. The key is to recognize it when it happens, and pump the brakes before we injure ourselves celebrating a sack that doesn’t matter.

The last line brings the whole message home. We are ashes and dust. What do we have to be arrogant about? There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be. After all, that is what holiness is: being the best version of ourselves. But we need to remember that no matter what good we do, no matter how great we are, we will all die. At the end of our lives we will meet the God who made us.

When we do, He won’t be concerned with how much money we made. He won’t ask us how many Facebook friends we had. He won’t care how many followers you had on Instagram or Twitter or how many boyfriends or girlfriends you had. He won’t have a tally on how many proms you were invited to or how many times you were on the TV or radio. He won’t be concerned with any of the things that people relate with success. What he will want to know is if you lived a good life, if you made people happy, if you treated others with the love, respect, and dignity that they deserved.

As we go forward with our lives this week, it is my prayer that we all strive to be the best version of ourselves, the holiest version of ourselves, and keep an eye out for our own arrogance.


Lord,
Do not let me fall into the trap of arrogance. Help me to keep my eyes fixed upon the cross, the perfect symbol of humility. Grant that I may become the best version of myself so that I may boast only in you.
Amen


Last night's playlist:
King of Glory – Third Day
Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) – Chris Tomlin
You Love Me Anyway – Sidewalk Prophets
Waiting Here for You – Christy Nockels
Enough – Chris Tomlin
Mighty to Save – Jeremy Camp
Hold Us Together – Matt Maher
You Can Have Me – Sidewalk Prophets
Your Love is Extravagant – Casting Crowns
Love Does – Brandon Heath