Scripture

And you shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

~Deuteronomy 8:2, LSB

Quote

Pride is the only disease that when a man has it, everyone knows it except him.

~Ya’akov

I was shocked to discover that humility is used only twice in the entire book of Deuteronomy and both times are in chapter eight. It is used in both verse two and three. It is the tiny Hebrew word ʿānâ and it is pronounced as it appears, like a girls name Anna. It means to put down, to become low, depressed, made small, downcast, afflicted and to stoop or bend down. One of the LORD’s purposes in leading Israel into the wilderness was to humble them. Humility is foundational in God’s kingdom. We can’t do anything pleasing to the LORD apart from humility.

Pride is rooted deep in our flesh and is a perpetual enemy. Like evil itself, it does not relent or abate. Pride is a snake in the grass. Before we even see it, we are bitten. I hate pride. I have every reason to hate it. It is the one thing that has caused me the most pain and sorrow. I even rebuke proud thoughts. I have discovered that proud words work like a boomerang, they come back to haunt you. I don’t know how many times I have wanted to retract proud statements.

The thing I hate most is the subtility of pride. Pride is sneaky. I got bit by a little dog a few weeks ago on a home visit. It really didn’t hurt, didn’t break skin but it scared the hound out of me. I didn’t see the little devil because it sneaked up behind me. Of course, I could not retaliate because the couple I was visiting loves the little mut. Pride is like that little dog, it will sneak up on you and when you least expect, it bites. I have said a hundred times that “humility” is the most elusive virtue, just when you think you have it, you don’t. It is like the guy who was awarded a pen for his humility but they had to revoke it because he wore it everywhere he went. He was proud of his humility.

I kid folks about writing my first book. I tell them I have the title: HUMILITY AND HOW I ATTAINED IT, AND WHY I AM PROUD OF IT.

Extra

The LORD is good and I praise Him for another great day of worship and celebration. I loved every song that Dale and Doug lead us in yesterday. The strangest thing happened: Dale stopped singing and Doug stopped playing and the congregation kept singing. It was wonderful!

It was great to see a lot of old friends at the LUKE 14 Banquet last night and also to meet some new friends. I never dreamed of being one of the old folks, but unless I miscounted, there were only three there older than  me. I enjoyed it. I didn’t want to leave good company but I needed to get home and check on June. She is not doing well. Still have a difficult time.

I’m going to share some trivia with you: I’ve been watching documentaries on Hitler and Germany and I was taken by the beautiful scenery in Germany. So yesterday, via YouTube, I took a trip up the Rhine on a steamboat. Kevin taught me to visit other countries via video. Germany has 20,000 Castles: more than any country in the world. Some of them are over 1,000 years old. I also took a train ride through Germany aboard the luxury liner ICE. I am sure it is not like going there but at my age, and with my limited resources, it will have to do.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Franky last night: he asks me if I went to the Bama game with the kids. I said, “No, I don’t like crowds, traffic, the tiny seating space or the noise.” He is a lot younger than me but he said, “I know what you mean, I feel the same way.” I like a man who agrees with me!