South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-08-02
Pride AND HUMILITY.

DC nufilDicu. ana NIiOSochtF >hali
humble himself shall be exalted
Matt. 23:f2.
PRIDE AND HUMILITY.
/. Pride i FoOIishness. No man in
his senses. if he Will stop 10 think,
and will follow his reasoning, will
ever be proud, for he will see that he
has nothing to boast Of. All we are.
and all we have, are the result OF
causes outside of ourselves. No mat
ter what a mans wealth, or ability,
he is indebted to others and especial
ly TO God, for the great influence
which his prominence enables him to
WELD. For example what were you
one hundred years ago? No one then
thought anything of you nor were you
ever missed. What and where Will
you be one hundred years hence?
Who will then miss you in this
world? God brought us out of moth
ingness into our present life and con-
ditiOns, and we are his debtors for alb
~sOlutely everything. How foolish
therefore il is for a mortal to be
proud When he awakens from his
delusiOn he will find himself greatly
humbled ever in his own estimation.
and every other influence which has
helped to produce conditions for us
as they are now, are the esult of the
love and care Of others and leave us
no room for boasting. Who is it that
perpetuates our lives? Who keeps GU
heart beating? Who preserves us in
health? Surely the answer to these
questions should produce in US a
sense of great humility, which in turn
would bring a true eXalta ton.
III. Pride Invites Contempt. A proud
man or woman is the most despicable
creature under the u n Pride is an
attempt to deceive others and our
selves; we want to appear better thar
we are; richer, of greater ability, of
q nObler ancestry. and in short. to
impress folks that we are of much
Importance in this world. and like a
proud peacock, we spread our feath-
ers, lift high our heads, in expectation
of the admiration of our fellow men.
Instead of this, almost without ex-
ceptiOn, the proud receive the con
tempt and scOrn of their fellows, and
thus by eXalting themselves become
wOefully humbled. The rich man. in
the parable, strutted about with great
pride when he saw how wealthy he
was and how plentifully his fields had
produced. He said he would pull down
his old barns and build greater and
there store the fruits of his land, and
said to his soud, Soul take
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry"
but God said to him, Thou fool, this
ul6ill thy SOul Slldll De required OF
thee" How contemplate men and
women appear, who are what they
are not, and who to do this live be-
yOnd their means, dress beyond their
station, live in houses for which they
cannot pay, or when they have houses
paid for mortgage them to buy an
automobile so they may appear to be
as great swells as the rich who in
dulge in such luxuriesi How infinitely
] hntfnF QPa fhnCn yrhn nc nnvNnD
with what they have, who live their
own lives in a natural way and Meth
er desire nor pretend TO be anything
other than they actually are!
Ill. Pride Brings Humiliation. The
proud are always laughed at behind
their backs. even when people speak
smilingly TO them to their faces. and
they are always running up against
some sort of humiliating obstacle. 1t
is very humbling to them when they
are not praised, or when they appear
TO be sighted. or when others are
promoted over their heads. not TO say
ridiculed by honest people to their
faces. IT is rarely hat a proud per-
son is pleased with anybody or any
thing. He ives in an atmosphere of
unreality, he expects too much and is
always getting too little. There is
not a day that he is not snubbed, or
humiliated in some way. n he lives
in a chronic condition Of misery and
discomfort. The strange part is. not
w~ithstanding all his rebuffs and hui
initiating experiences, that he keeps on
in his attempt to deceive himself and
others. He generally succeeds in de-
ceiving himself but always fails to
hOOdwink others.
IN. Humility Brings EXaItatiOn. To
think of ourselves no more highly
than we ought TO think is real hu-
mility. but 1t tends TO self respect. to
quietness and cOntentment, and above
all, II brings the approval of God.
God hates n proud. but he respects
the humble, and those that humble
themselves he always eXalts. When
We honor our superiOrs we are al
ways honOred by them; when we are
kind and courteous TO our equals they
never fail TO be kind and courteous 10
us; when we are mindful of the
rights of our interiors, and treat them
with n same consideration which we
expect from our superiors, we never
fail 10 have proper Difference shown
us by those who are beneath us. nor
10 get the respect of those who are
above US. Realizing our " nothing
ness, and our entire dependence upon
God and our fellows. we are able To
utilize the kindness which comes
from our fellow men and TO take on
the power which God always bestows
upon those who put their trust fully
in him..