26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
My wife had a gathering of women recently in our home. The theme was a cotillion, a teenage coming-of-age party. In setting the atmosphere my wife bought some small tiaras for everyone to wear which sparkled in the light. They looked nice from a distance but were nothing more than pieces of plastic devoid of value. To a very young girl they might have been very special, but to the adult women, they were just fun to laugh about. A real diamond tiara would have stood out against the plastic, but the plastic was simply empty glory. When we think our plastic tiaras, those things we have done for God out of our strength, have value we get big-headed. Paul calls it conceited. And when one person becomes conceited, then it is as if two kids were calling from across the playground in an attempt to get the other one in trouble. They become empty taunts designed to push the other over the edge. And if that isn’t enough we look at the other person’s tiara and want it, not so much because it is better than ours, but because it is theirs. The only solution is for us to take an honest look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word. He has a way of letting the air out of our self-inflated egos and giving us the opportunity to allow the Spirit to fill us instead. And when the Spirit fills us, no nail on the highway of life can deflate us. We become puncture-proof. Of course we leak, but that is why we must stay connected to the Spirit so that we can continually being filled. I want to encourage you to get in God’s presence and remove the valve stem and let all your self-inflation empty right before Him. Be honest before Him about who you know you are. And then He can fill you with His Spirit and begin a new journey of humility and strength.