Resources/Articles
"You Too Are Mortal"
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4.6
In the days of ancient Rome, when a general returned from a victorious battle, the Romans would stage a parade to welcome the conqueror home. The parade would include the general’s troops, as well as trophy captives who had been brought along as evidence of the victory. As the parade made its way through the city, the crowds would cheer their hero’s success.
To prevent the general’s ego from becoming too swollen, a slave rode along with him in his chariot. Why? The slave’s task was to continually whisper in the general’s ear, “You too are mortal” as the Roman throngs heaped praise upon him.
How do you greet success? Does pride swell huge in your mind? Have you thought, “If people knew how much I sacrificed, the time it took, and the energy I put into this, they would appreciate me more?” Has your success taken you to the point of boasting of what you have accomplished, as if no one has done or ever will do this again?
When successful, we may lose sight of our own frailty. We could have been defeated as easily as we were successful. “Wherefore he that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10.12). James pointed us away from the danger of pride by pointing us toward humility and God. He wrote, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4.6). The key here is grace. The Lord alone deserves thanks and praise for the grace He has lavished on us which provides us the success we experience. It is God - not ourselves - who should be considered the source of our achievement, success, or greatness. 1 John 5.4 tells us our victory should be a product of faith, not our personal strengths or talents.
O how our selfish hearts need to understand that all we are or were ever meant to be is by God’s grace. The apostle Paul said it well in 1 Corinthians 15.10: “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” Let us understand God’s infinite love expresses itself through His infinite goodness each day. Think on these things to aid in the battle of your ego.
