Beware of hubris! It is lurking at the doors of our hearts. How very often religious experience leads to pride. This is especially true of spiritual leaders. It has been this way for a long time. How do we know?
Jesus spoke sternly to the religious leaders of his day. He “woed” them seven times in this passage: “Woe to you teachers of the law.” It was his law. Why would he pronounce woes on those who taught it? Hubris. Their pride knew no bounds. They were so sure that they were so right! He saw not a hint of humility in them.
My friend Bruce Winter who was the Principal at Tyndale House in Cambridge is a brilliant scholar of the New Testament. But he did not like titles. He took his students to task for letting their doctorates define their identity. Chiefly, he pointed to this passage. Jesus says, “Don’t let anyone call you Rabbi, or father, or Instructor.” Why not? You are brothers. You have only one Father. The Messiah, Jesus is your true Instructor.
In Jesus’ circles, peerage is inverted. He calls the greatest leaders to be servants. Both promise and proviso present themselves in this passage. God exalts the humble. This is good news. We have every reason to be humble. When we live with humility God inevitably exalts us. What a promise! On the other hand, God humbles the exalted. Pride goes before a fall. In my experience, the fall is not cushioned, either. These truths are every bit as binding as the law of gravity. We might call them the law of humility.
Beware of hubris! It is lurking at the doors of our hearts. Today if you hear it knock, send it away.
