Arrogant

Intro

This is Dreamwalker1960. As a reminder you can read the transcripts of all my podcasts at dreamwalker1960.com. You can use most podcast platforms if you wish to listen. All you need do is do a search for Dreamwalker1960.

Discussion

In recent days I have tried to expand my ministry, by reaching out to some groups on Facebook that state they are for my fellow Christians. Which forums I will not say, for I find it best not to do so. What I found there in some cases shocked and saddened me at the same time.

Yes, there were many that did seem to be seeking true fellowship with other Christians. However, there was a minority that made me decide to make this podcast.

So let us begin:

Romans 12:16 – Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits. (Amplified Bible Classic)

As you can see here the word “haughty” has three words that describe it here. We will look at all four so people can start to understand the issue.

Haughty – in the Greek there are seven different words that equate to being haughty. (G5187; G5246; G5448; G5252; G5244; G5229 and G5308.) What the various definitions boil down to is: Disdainfully or contemptuously proud; arrogant and overbearing.

a: disdainfully – in a way that shows that someone does not like someone or something and thinks that they do not deserve interest or respect.

b: arrogant – unpleasantly proud and behaving as if you are more important than, or know more than, other people.

c: overbearing – too confident and too determined to tell other people what to do, in a way that is unpleasant.

Snobbish – snob – a person who respects and likes only people who are of a high social class, and/or a person who has extremely high standards who is not satisfied by the things that ordinary people like.

High-minded – having very high moral standards of behavior.

Exclusive – excluding others from participation.

As I think back through my life I remember how “Christians” were portrayed in many movies and TV shows, especially in the most recent decades. The descriptions shown above met this imagery portrayal in these mediums.

But if you listened to what I said at the beginning of this study. I stated that those I encountered that behaved in this manner were in the minority.

There are two things that is sad about this. First off that those that made these scripts actually think that true Christians behave in this manner. Second is that those that do beave in this manner actually believe they are right with God.

The last part of the twelfth chapter of Romans deals with showing how we are to behave within the body of Christ:

Romans 12:9-21 – Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. 20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

The theme? To care and love for one another and to consider all to be your equal. But the question comes up. What does God think about those that think they are greater than others?

James 4:5-6 – Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 3:34 – The LORD mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble. (The scorner [mocker] is proud and haughty)

Scorner – scorn – a very strong feeling of no respect for someone or something that you think is stupid or has no value.

Mocker – To treat with ridicule or contempt; deride.

a: deride – to laugh at someone or something in a way that shows you think they are stupid or of no value.

God is against those that deride, scorn and mock others. So, if God is against this what does this make those that behave in this manner?

2 Timothy 3:1-5 – You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

The key verse we are discussing today though is the second verse so we will look at it in the Amplified Classic:

“For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.”

Scoffing – scoff – an expression of scorn, derision, or contempt

a: derision – If you treat someone or something with derision, you express contempt for them.

b: contempt – lack of respect or reverence for something or someone.

So, these people belittle others. Thinking themselves as greater. Verse five ends with this command”

“Stay away from people like that!”

Therefore, when these are encountered, we are told by the Bible to cut these people out of the Body of Christ. Which makes them the enemy of God.

James 4:4 – You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

Consequently, these that are an enemy of God are in actuality of the world. If they are of the world then it could be said they are not bearing fruit upon the Vine who is Jesus Christ.

John 15:1-10 – “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

We must also remember that Jesus Christ said that there were two commandments that are the greatest of them all:

Matthew 22:36-40 – “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

The second is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Would you ridicule yourself? Would you scoff at yourself? Would you seek to make a mockery of your own life? Would you have contempt for yourself?

Proverbs says this:

Proverbs 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

And what is this fall to which is being referred here?

Hebrews 6:4-6 – For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— 6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

Those that believe that they are greater. That they are perfect. That they are better. Are leading themselves to their own destruction. For the only person able to remove a person from God is themselves. And part of that journey is by being haughty.

God Bless

The belief that one is greater than another human being is the core problem that cause events like the holocaust and war to take place. From this core point of superiority comes all that can be considered evil. And a system of this delusion is the belief, by those that think themselves superior are “smarter” than anyone else.
One of the core elements of those that truly learn the Bible and understand the teaching of Jesus Christ is that all humanity is equal but when you are Christian you are to place all others before yourself. It teaches in no uncertain terms that to be haughty is a sin.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 18:12 – Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
Haughty (16:18) – gobahh – height, excellency, haughty, high, loftiness, pride
Haughty (18:12) – gabahh – exalt, be haughty, be make higher, lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward
Romans 12:14 – Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
I really do wish these people were not so blinded in their own religions that they could not see that they loss encounters with Christians the moment they start to be of a haughty mentality. For it was not we Christians they are passing judgment upon. Yes I say judgment. They accuse us of being close-minded yet they themselves are close-minded. This is the core of the verse that people have misquoted and misconstrued when they say “ye shall not judge.”
Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. 6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.”
They do not see that it is they that are passing judgement upon themselves for they are the ones living in their sense of high-mindedness and self-glorification. For this is the real meaning of these verse. Christ also instructs us not to preach unto those that live and think this way, for we would “waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.”
I never diminished anyone’s intelligence I merely pointed out that they many have not truly studied what they are parroting. Yes I say “parroting.” You can tell they have never truly read the Word of God. This can be obvious to any that truly knows the Bible. You can tell it is “parroting,” because if they really knew the Bible. They would see that just because it is the understanding that this entire universe exists due to God. It does not lessen their existence or their being as they have been told it must do by those that have rejected the truth. They have listened to those that preach a different message. A lie that certain members of the human race are better than others, because they listen to the religions of science, the religion of humanism, the religion of evolution. A false narrative that leads all the way back to Satan the father of all lies. The one being that thinks all of creation is less than himself and wishes all, especially humanity to suffer as he himself will suffer in the end.

dreamwalker1960

Thoughts out of the blue

Blog for Podcast #65 (The Haughty)

“You are STUPID for believing in God!!”