Paul & the Plague to Pride

What do you have that you did not receive? 

If then you received it, 

why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

 - 1 Cor. 4:7b (ESV)

The Me Monster

Brian Regan makes a great and humorous point.
But don't miss the main point:
There is a Me Monster living inside of every one of us.

It is a peculiar thing that humans are so obsessively mindful of themselves.  How could we think so highly of ourselves especially when we consider that:

• We are only individuals on a planet full of about 6.5 billion other individuals
• We did not chose to be born
• We did not chose where we were born, nor into which family
• We did not chose to be born blessed with eyes and ears that work
• Every heart beat is a gift which we did not earn
• Every breath of fresh air is enjoyed by lungs which we did not make
• One day we will all die and dissolve into dust
• One day almost everything we cherish will also dissolve into dust

This list could go on and on.  I wonder what you might add to the list?

It all reminds me of an intensely humbling verse of Scripture:
"What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
- 1 Cor. 4:7b

The Devastation of Arrogance

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Pride goes before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall.

- Proverbs 16:18
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Ruin and devastation are consequences of egotism and overconfidence. Falling results from thinking you can stand on your own.