For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Pride is a destructive thing. We are told in God's word that pride goes before the fall. It was pride that caused Lucifer to believe that he could ascend the throne of God and be greater than God. But in the end God dealt with him in His perfect righteousness and justice.
All of us who have come to Christ and are being used by God on a daily basis do so by the grace of God. We have been saved by His grace. We are not saved or justified by our works. There is nothing we can do in ourselves that would say to God "you have to us me and anoint me". Actually without God we are lost, broken, and on a road to destruction. But thankfully God in His grace and mercy chose to interrupt our lives, gain our attention, woo us and bring us into right relationship with Him.
Paul tells us here to have sound judgement. If I am truly acting in sound judgement than I am taking an honest inventory and assessment of myself. I understand how broken I am and how far I fall short from the glory of God. I understand without God I am like a lost sheep who is struggling in the journey of life. If left to myself, I will ultimately destroy myself, but God has stepped in. He has redeemed me and He has saved me. He now calls me to walk with Him and follow Him. I am only His child because He has allowed it.
God has allotted to each of us a measure of faith. It is a foolish thing to look at fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and compare ourselves to them. It either results in us being discouraged and failing to see the beauty that God has created us with, or it causes us to become arrogant and focused on self. Neither is productive or beneficial. But if we would simply focus on Christ and the grace that has been afforded us it would enable us to walk in humility and see the character and nature of Christ developed within us. The purpose of the Christian journey is to simply become more like Jesus every day. If we are failing to do this we need to ask ourselves why. Often it is a result of failing to abide in Him and instead trying to rely on ourselves which results in failure every time.
Prayer
Father help me to understand the depths of your grace for me. Help me to let go of my own power and wisdom. Help me to have a right understanding of who I am in you and who I am when left to myself. Help me to die to myself daily and prune away anything in my life that is not of you. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!
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