At least a couple of times a week I drive past a guy who begs for money at the side of the road. Yes, we all know it is a scam job. Because of this I feel justified in looking down my nose at him and somehow thinking that I am better than him. I must admit this isn't the only instance where I am tempted to think that I better than someone else. It happens more than I would like to admit. I find it interesting that no matter what station of life you may find yourself in, their will always be someone you can look down on.
I have a friend who was in prison. He told me that everyone got treated pretty equally except for one group of people: the sex-offenders. They were the ones that all the other prisoners looked down their noses at. They were harassed and abused. Sometimes other prisoners would refuse to serve them their food. I found it interesting that even in prison there is a pecking order. There is a group of people that others think that they are better than. Murderers and thieves think "Well at least I am not a sex-offender."
I was reading in 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul continues to talk about the Israelites and what we can learn from them. "We are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence."
Whenever I am tempted to think that I am better than you or anyone else I am living in self-confidence, which Paul says is useless. So I have tried to start a new habit. Whenever I see anyone else and am tempted to make the false assumption that I am high above them, I quote this phrase from a 14th century martyr, "But for the grace of God, there am I."
So I leave you with these sobering words from Paul, "You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence, Cultivate God-confidence."
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