What does it mean, “humble yourself before God...” (James 4:10)? As you read the full chapter in James in light of Matthew 6:33, the Apostle is reiterating the operating principles of the Christian God. As a follower, we are to love our neighbor (and even enemies). We are to reason (not debate) with them while showing our Christianity, not reacting to them based on emotion or our using own logic (our own interpretation of what it means to love your neighbor even when they are wrong or have provoked you). Thinking too much and too often of yourself is an indication of pride* and it shows in your personality. The amount of pride varies in expression based on the individual willingness to self-regulate.

• Take a look at closer look into what is at the heart of your own motive; reread Appendix 1H and compare it to Proverbs 14:12 and Matthew 7:3-5.

 

*Pride is present in every human being but it varies in expression based upon the degree of self-regulation you choose to exercise. This trait in its extreme expression or suppression, has very visible characteristics to other people but it is a tough characteristic to identify in yourself. Pride can be displayed in shy or in arrogant behavior. It can also be a root cause of obsessive worry, depression, or perfectionism. It is often buried under anxiety, sadness, irritability, isolation, etc. Pride provokes more of the same. It's like an insatiable appetite; once you start doing it, you establish a pattern of behavior that leads you to always wanting more, inviting sins like greed, envy, and lust (Ephesians 4:20-32).

• *Pride is thinking of yourself first and then letting that viewpoint influence all your decisions so that you act without prioritizing and/or considering those around you, despite whether you portray your level of assertiveness through overconfidence or shyness. To hone in on the topic of "self-regulation" for a Christian read Appendix 2J. 

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Pride obstructs your senses, making it hard to trust others. It acts as a filter in which you process all other information so it impacts your perception. Not only does pride shape your understanding, outlook and perception but it can be seen by others and this shapes how others see you. Excessive pride contributes to a psycho-social imbalance which can lead to distorted thinking, manipulative and insincere behavior, and poor conflict resolution skills. It can cause self-sabotaging actions (linked to mistrust) resulting in a desire to control your feelings through denial and addiction.

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As a Christian, even though you may have swallowed your pride when you accepted God as your highest authority, you may not have digested it as seen by elevating Him above yourself; your thinking, your habits, etc. That’s why pride is said to be part of your living sacrifice to God. It is so much a part of your persona that you can't detect it in yourself. It is one of those universal sinful traits that can only be driven out by the awareness that comes from knowing the standards/principles of the Word of God. When you became a Christian, even though you had a heartfelt motive to swallow your pride and wanted to belong to the family God, you were **transformed only in spirit and you may not be aware of the need to curb your pride in your body and soul so you can walk in a new way that honors God, each and every day after that day. The physical transformation process of learning to live in step with our guide, the Holy Spirit, needs to be accompanied by a soul transformation so you can become a new wo/man in Christ (Galatians 5:25, 5:23-24, John 8:31-32). Christian cognitive dissonance happens when you are stuck in an old mindset  or an old physical habit that does not align with your Spirit, leaving you feeling tired and frustrated rather than refreshed and victorious (Ephesians 4:22-25). Consider some reasons:  

 

1. You fail to realize that transformation (awareness of your heart change) must be genuine and occur before you willingly enter the sanctification process (progressively learning how to apply God's Word). Without this first step of a heart change, the practice of Christianity will not bring you the heartfelt peace and joy of being a Child of God. Reading the Word daily shapes your attitude of gratitude which is vital to the authenticity and cognitive consistency of a Christian. (For more look at the difference between a proud verses a humble outlook; how humility and gratitude motivate self-sacrificial love – see Appendix 2D.)

2. You fail to understand/trust the character of God so instead your behavior reflects that it's your will that needs to be done. (Controlling and Independent verses being cooperative and God-dependent; see Appendix 2N).

3. You fail to accept the unconditional gift of God that is Christ, which keeps you anxiously striving instead of confidently resting in God's finished work. (A Christians Emotional IQ - see Appendix 1T.)

4. You fail to see yourself as a new person in Christ, freed by your repentance and God’s forgiveness from past behavior. (Are you stuck or do you move on and out of your past? Read more in "Diffuse Frustration with Expressions of Love and Forgiveness". )

5. You aren’t balancing God’s grace with your faith (Ephesians 2:8-10):

   • there is an imbalance between your understanding (and application of) your own free will and God’s sovereignty in your life which causes confusion when trying to understand the consequences from your  actions. For the Christian, there are two different reasons (conscious or unconscious) why this may be happening; 

     • ​abuse of grace; (Romans 6:14-15, James 4:17, Psalm 103:10–11) when you take the mercy of God for granted and so don't deny yourself from sinful temptations (Luke 9:22-24) or

     • legalism; (Matthew 5:17-19) when you don’t realize how heart knowledge impacts behavior so you try to do things "right", as listed in the law, instead of doing the right thing as imprinted on a Christians' heart and detailed out in the Word of God (James 4:17).

6. You don’t honor/esteem others, so you do not rely on the support accessible to you through your local church. (Independence, competition and pride block love - see Appendix 2S.)

7. You don’t reinforce your holy conduct by assimilating with people with similar Christian faith. (Pride prevents the development of authentic, unconditional love – see Appendix 2T.)

 

Other scripture references: Romans 6:11, 12:2; Galatians 2:16, 2:20, 5:22-25, 6:15-16; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17-19, 10:4-5; Ephesians 2:5-6, Colossians 1:23, 1:27, 2:13; 3:1; 1 Peter 1:3-5.

 

Humility frees you from self-focus.

Humility is what changes your perspective so you can respect, trust, and love God and show it by holy living and by providing service to others (read more in "Godly Fear Triggers Actions of Obedience but Love Sustains Conduct"). In fact, the Bible uses the term “dying to self” to encourage the exchange of pride for humility so that you can enter into an authentic relationship with the Christian God. When you become aware of a bad habit, an addiction or just have a wrong perspective, examine your motives. Who are you trying to please; yourself, other people or God? (Romans 8:8). Instead of looking at the world as "What's in it for me"?, change your perspective to "How can I help others"? This shows other people what compassion looks like in action while it provides you with a sense of belonging to a group that has a broad and fulfilling perspective from a proper view of God.  

 

Fight the temptation to resort to me-first thinking. Instead of hyper-focusing or obsessing about yourself, move your focus off that triggering thought and shift your perspective to incorporate thoughts about how to please God. Trusting Him by choosing to follow God's way and His truth today, brings a confident, authentic, full life, with peace, freeing you from your anxious fleshly thoughts and desires (Zaslav, M.R., 1998, Yelsma, P., Brown, N. M., & Elison, J. (2002), John 14:1, 6-7, 15-17, 27, Ephesians 3:16-20). Obedience to God is behavior that shows love and honor to Him above anyone/thing else (Matthew 6:33, John 14:15). Love is an action that demonstrates your willingness to trade selfish ambition and self-rule for submission to and trust in God (Philippians 2:3, James 3:13-17, see Appendix 2N).

• Read more about half glass full thinking in the "Subdue-your-soul" article of the "Still Anxious?" tab.

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Another hard to identify trait of pride is that it can disguise itself as is “unbelief” (Mark 9:23-24). Unbelief halts trust which is necessary for submission and obedience to God’s sovereignty (Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 26:39, see “Godly Fear …”… Love and Obedience” and Appendix 1A). Until you accept that God’s love is unconditionally based on His character and your willingness to be “covered by the blood of Christ” (believe in and ask God to lead your life), you can not live freely inside the boundaries of God’s love.

• Take a fresh look at “Intentionality, Free-will and the Law” and God’s principles in Appendix 1G and then with this perspective read Appendix 2H.

 

Decision-making is impacted by your perception. Perception is formed from the value you place on God and others. The psycho-social balance, although a scientific theory, is proven when applied to Christianity. Transformation is instantaneous in Spirit, but it takes a lifetime to show it through your soul and body. To successfully move through the sanctification process**, your me first thinking needs to shift to grateful thinking. Don't take for granted. Yes, His gift of grace is continuous but if you take it for granted, it loses its power to motivate Christian behavior (Appendix 2P). Seeing yourself in a right relationship with God produces the gratitude you need to produce the fruit of holiness in you, birthed and guided by the Holy Spirit (references found in Appendix 2L). If you want different results, enlarge your perception so you have more viable options to choose from when making decisions.   

• Your perspective helps you be compassionate because you have learned to appreciate, not take for granted, the goodness of God. Read "Gratitude, the sign of a humble heart" in Appendix 2P.

• See Steps in problem-solving and decision-making in the "Capture Your Vision" tab.

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***Sanctified to be a Child of God, fit for kingdom Living

Note:

**Spiritual transformation is an instantaneous act performed by God resulting from your belief. ***Physical sanctification (body and soul changes) is accomplished by both your initiative and God's empowerment through the Holy Spirit. It's your willfully-directed decision to worship God in your words and deeds. It's also a willfully-directed decision to grow in the "grace and knowledge" of God so "He can increase as you decrease" in your character expression over time and experiences James 2:14-17, John 3:30).

• Character integrity to God requires humility. Read more in Appendix 1S.

 

Your willingness to turn to God is the first sign that you are ready to unmask your pride. When you surrender your life to God, He will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). By being vulnerable enough to trust God, you will learn how to heal emotional wounds and move on to remedy your associated unhealthy behaviors (2 Chronicles 7:14). You demonstrate (publicly) your heartfelt commitment (making God the first priority in your life) by showing your spiritual transformation in your actions and words; referred to in the Bible as your "sanctification"** process (Matthew 6:33, James 1:22, 2 Peter 3:18). The Apostle Peter explains much of this in his second letter. As well, the Apostle Paul also warns new believers "to grow up in Christ" (Ephesians 4:1-2, 4:14-16).

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***Sanctification is a life-long, continuous, learning process throughout your journey on earth as a Christian (scroll to the picture in middle of the page "... New Normal Lifestyle in Christ"). It's one where you continuously incorporate your new mindset into your actions so they become habits (Appendix 1F). You grow continuously by feeding on and acting out what you know of God's Word (John 6:55-56, James 2:17, Appendix 1J). Turning from pride to humility is also a never-ending battle that continues throughout life. Humility doesn’t just open the door to entering a relationship with God, but it sustains the relationship because it generates a cycle, not a linear series of steps, in

which humility is considered first, with trust second, obedience third, etc. A relationship requires constant nurturing - it's not a one and done process. Like a deeper friendship or like a seedling that grows into a plant, the plant must continue to get its nutrients to survive/thrive day, through all the seasons, but can only grow through your willingness and the power of Holy Spirit.

 

Changing your perception is similar in nature. It is meant to grow and mature. that this is a way you ensure receive a steading flow of nutrients throughout life. Your attitude helps pull up your behavior toward new standards that you want to incorporate into your life. In fact, learning to walk in love as directed by the Holy Spirit, honors God and transforms your words and actions from "me, myself and I" to more inclusive language like "we, our, and us" (Deuteronomy 4:6). It is this change in focus that keeps you engaged in learning so you can become “more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:37).​ God’s will is for you to be saved and for you to honor your new identity in Christ by giving holy love to others. Justification saves you; sanctification achieves the Great Commission (Zechariah 7:8-9, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, John 1:12, Matthew 23:37, Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 15:7, 1 Peter 2:9, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 3:3, Acts 1:8).

 

Your walk will match your talk when you rely on a humble attitude, portrayed confidently because you are aware that your strength to do this comes from your decision to honor God by loving Him (as shown by submitting to His command to love others). This activates the Holy Spirit so when you choose to display traits like patience, gentleness, self-control and compassion through your behavior, you can achieve your goal (Ephesians 3:16, Philippians 2:13, 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, 2 Timothy 1:14). The work of God is for you to accept His love and pass it on to others. (It's in the chewing/swallowing, not the digestion.) It’s being kind and forgiving to your neighbor as well as yourself - out of gratitude for the mercy and grace of God that shapes your life (Romans 8:30-39). Walking in love is the proof of Christ in you, evidenced by bending your will to do the will of God as an ambassador for Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2, read more here).​​