Pardon My Arrogance

Zephaniah 3: ⁹ “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
    that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
    and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
¹⁰ From beyond the rivers of Cush
    my worshipers, my scattered people,
    will bring me offerings.
¹¹ On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
    for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from you
    your arrogant boasters.
Never again will you be haughty
    on my holy hill.

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“You sound like one of us” is what a senior leader said to me. I now had the title, responsibility and the “strut” down-packed.  I could not be bothered with the trivial and sped up conversations because I was “busy.” I had made “it.”

• There were times when I was arrogant.
• There were times when I was boastful.
• There were times when I was the “one who would save.

Reeling with confidence, I laid “my” plans out to the masses without permission. Every step was a battle and each moment was a fight to keep the group under me strong. BUT GOD wanted something different.

• GOD wanted me to have a humble heart, not a haughty one.
• GOD wanted me to recognize my boasting that I called “managing upward.”
• GOD wanted me to see my arrogance that I placed false confidence in my abilities.

Confidence in capabilities is only good when I acknowledge where these gifts and talents come from, namely GOD. In business, people told me I spoke like a wimp when I did not say “I did this or I did that” so I did and people praised me for it. BUT GOD was not pleased.

HE wants me to point to HIM, not to me. HE should get ALL the glory for even the tiniest step I make. GOD is my guide and my refuge. In HIM I brag and boast.  

• Are you trying to get a promotion?
• Do you feel you need to “manage upward” in order to get ahead?
• Can you stop your arrogant tone and start asking GOD for humility?
• Will you seek GOD today?