DEFEATING ARROGANCE. By Pastor Fernando

Scripture:
“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Observation:
One of the inevitable character traps in leadership is arrogance. Moses instructed the people to be careful about acting arrogantly, first as a subject towards authorities by rejecting appointed leadership, and second as a leader towards the subjects by abusing power and authority. When giving instructions to those in leadership, Moses clearly provided the key to defeat arrogance--to keep the law of the Lord daily in front of them. God’s Word would remind the leader that he is called to be a servant of the people and his obedience will result in a humble leader that defeats the natural tendency to become arrogant.

Application:
Among all the kings of Israel and Judah, I’m not sure how many of them followed Moses instructions. My guess is that most of them followed the rituals of the temple, including this instruction. They probably had daily readings of the law and even wrote their own copy of Torah. The problem is that for the vast majority of them, those exercises were simply religious calisthenics. Their reading and writing became a ritual that did nothing to affect their character. As a result, they were proud, they were arrogant, and they act as if they were above their fellow citizens.

If we are not careful, we can fall into the same problem. We can devote ourselves to daily devotions and journaling without changing a bit in our character. They only way to defeat our natural tendency towards arrogance is not just read and write, but most of all, obey what we read and write. Many times I find myself doing my devotions because I have to. I’m the pastor and if I want people to do devotions, I should lead by example. The problem with that is that I may do the reading and journal a great entry, but my heart stays away from it and my character is not moving from glory to glory. I need to understand the importance of doing my devotions for the sake of transformation. If I’m called to lead God’s people, then I need to apply more and more myself to God’s Word in a way that efficiently motivates me and causes change in my life. In that way, I will defeat the arrogance that will naturally build up in my heart.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the many times I take the sacred things and make them ordinary things. Please help me to focus every time I’m doing my devotions and truly find the gems that will transform my life and mold my character according to your heart. Let me be quick to listen and obey. I don’t want my devos to become a ritual. I want to be transformed from glory to glory by the power of your Word. Please help me to defeat the arrogance and pride that prowls daily around my life and ministry. Please never let me think of me as if I’m above everybody else. Let me be always humble before you and before those whom I serve. Amen.