Proverbs
30:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast
thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
Here is referring to blowing your own horn and
thinking of yourself more than you are. It also refers to thinking evil,
malicious thoughts. The Proverb says that the smartest move in these cases is
to shut up. The specific literal reference here for the Hebrew goes back to the
previous verses when in the presence of a king. You will do well in the
presence of a king not to exalt yourself or speak evil thoughts. It is best to
just keep your trap shut. Let the prince lift you up if you have any merit to
him. Be humble, not arrogant, when standing in the presence of power.
Proverbs 25:6 ¶ Put not forth thyself in the
presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7 For better it
is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put
lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
But, what good is that to most of us who will
never stand in the presence of so called “great men?” In any event, if you are
humble in the presence of the worldly businessman, the head of your company or
a manager, they may view you as weak. Still, not tooting your own horn or
speaking in a hateful manner is what God calls the Christian to do.
In fact, to bring this verse to a level of
application for the average Christian Joe or Josephine in our daily lives we
need to put a slightly different view on it. Christians are told to bring every
thought into obedience to Christ, as Paul told us.
2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Not to think too highly of themselves, again
from Paul;
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace
given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath
dealt to every man the measure of faith.
We are not to put ourselves up higher than
others. Here James and Peter repeat the same sentiments;
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he
may exalt you in due time:
This
is one of the problems with competitive sports. The winner is exalted and for a
brief time shares in a counterfeit glory, a sort of self-exaltation. Athletes
past their prime might dwell on their medals and awards. Sports are about
winners and losers, one side being lifted up, one side being cast down. They
teach a false ideal to the Christian. This is often also exacerbated by the
pressure put on coaches to produce winners on the field, the court, in the
ring, or on the mat. Instead of being rewarded for excellent character the
athlete is rewarded only for outstanding performance. His bad character is only
acknowledged if he or she embarrasses the coach or school.
In the cult of self, the exaltation of the flesh
is the greatest good. Yukio Mishima, the famed Japanese author and Samurai,
said in his classic Sun and Steel that physical excellence is a sign of
spiritual excellence and that bodily weakness proved a kind of spiritual sloth.
That classic work is a prime case of the lifting up of Self as the greatest
ideal. As the pop song made famous by Whitney Houston, The Greatest Love of
All, makes abundantly clear, the world acknowledges love of self as the
greatest love, not love of others or love of Christ.
Even in spiritual matters we tend to give
ourselves honor for our supposed faithfulness, success at soulwinning, church
attendance, dress, or manner of living, as we hold ourselves out as a model of
Christian virtue and spirituality.
It is more important in sports to give your
best, train hard, and to show humility in victory and noble graciousness in
defeat. Temper tantrums, foul language, trash talk, and bragging are the signs
of a truly weak person. It is more important in your spiritual life to quietly
go about serving God and remember where you’d be and where you’d be going
without Him.
The Christian should always be giving glory to
God alone. But how often do you, when you receive or accomplish something good
in the eyes of the world, publicly give Christ the glory? At the end of the day
it is SELF whom you lift up and exalt as a little god. Look what I accomplished.
I’m proud of what I did. These things are not from God. They are from your own
flesh. At work, at play, in politics, in sports, keep in mind that after you
die, within a generation or maybe two, as people who know you now also die, you
will be forgotten. It will be as if you never existed on earth except as a name
on some ignored records. Even now, your athletics and other achievements have
been forgotten and are only a dim memory, even to you.
As the Romans said, “all glory is fleeting.”
Only what you do for Christ and with Christ has eternal value, or to quote a
movie character, “echoes in eternity.” The Christian who is puffed up at some
vain, worldly accomplishment should remember Jesus words in a reference about
spiritual things;
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.
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