54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
Who is it that we desire to honor us? Who do we set our sights on to lift us up, to recognize us as important or excellent or valuable? Who is it that we yearn to hear praise from? Whose words of affirmation and love bring joy to our soul? Do we desire it from God? Are we seeking it from man? Do we enjoy it from our own lips? Oftentimes the earthly obscures the heavenly in matters of exaltation – clinging to what man thinks of us and rarely giving thought to what God does. Human voices drown out the voice of God in our ears. In our verse for today Jesus rightly and carefully states man’s glory or praise means nothing. Perhaps we should read that again: man’s glory or praise means nothing – it is neither sufficient nor conclusive. The creating of our own honor is a grotesque product of our imagination – a bogey – there is nothing in it. Self-admirers are self-deceivers. True glory comes from God and is preceded by humility:
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)
17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17 (NIV)
Indeed, the pagan king turned animal turned king again, Nebuchadnezzar, rightly stated in Daniel after his grazing in the grass experience:
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Dan 4:34-37 (NIV)
King David’s words in Psalm Eight come to mind:
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 8:3-5 (NIV)
Man was created by God as His representation over all of creation - exalted by God yet, of course, not at all His equal. In the above Psalm, David writes of his amazement that God would elevate man to such honor. Yet, unfortunately, man failed with his exalted destiny. As Satan was cast from heaven due to the pride of exaltation of self – wanting to be as God – so too, man was cast from the garden – from walking and communing with God due to pride – wanting to be as God. We find the following in both Isaiah and Ezekiel regarding Satan:
12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." 15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15 (NIV)
17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. Ezek 28:17 (NIV)
And regarding the fall of man we find the following in Genesis:
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Gen 3:4-6 (NIV)
Pride is an insidious monster. We must constantly beware of anything that causes us to think of ourselves as a superior person – walking around with our noses in the air as if others were beneath us. Paul rightly tells us:
7 For who makes you different from anyone else? 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 4:7 (NIV)
Indeed, of the seven things detestable in the Lord’s sight listed in Proverbs, pride is number one:
16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Prov 6:16-19 (NIV)