"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." Luke 22:31-34.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility consider others better than yourselves.” Phil 2:3 NIV
Self-conceit is an exaggerated opinion of one’s own
qualities or abilities. It is an over-rated or inflated pride in oneself or
one’s appearance. Self-conceit is when you have over-confidence in yourself,
what you can do or what you have done. You do not put into consideration your
fallibility and vulnerabilities; you just feel you can and there is no reason
for fear or caution. It is a manifestation of complex and a deception someone may
feel secure in. Gal. 6:3-4 warns that “If anyone thinks he is something when he
is nothing, he deceives himself.” NIV. Self-conceit is a feeling, a thinking
and an opinion that is exaggerated, it may not be the reality but the person
bases his behavior on it. The passages we quoted above are filled with lessons
and instructions. Peter missed an opportunity
to ask for mercy and grace because he was self-conceited. What has his answer in
verse 33, expressing strength, got to do with the warning the Lord gave to him in verses 31-32? It is
only self-conceit that will make a man to hear warnings from the Lord of all
the earth, but only to ignore it believing that he has strength and can do “mighty
things” for God.
What makes us self-conceited?
1.
The strength we think we have, whether perceived
or real can make us to be self-conceited. What we can do or what we have done.
Peter in our text above trusts in what he can do. It blinds us and hinders us
from depending and seeking for the help we need either from others or from the
Lord.
2.
The knowledge we think we have. Self-conceit
makes us unteachable because we think we know and have no need of learning.
There is this “I have arrived mentality” when we are self-conceited.
3.
Our gifting, talents, special abilities,
possessions, and achievements can make us to be self-conceited. We may be
tempted to overrate ourselves, which makes us to foolishly cross some
common-sense boundaries which definitely will land us into trouble. As gifted
men and women, we need to continually submit our gifting to the Lord. When we
can pray, teach, or prophesy, the temptation is that after a long time of
practice, it is possible to leave the Lord behind while we continue the use of
the gifting. It just dawned on me that God has not asked me to trust on my
prayer life or the quantity of scriptures in my head, He has asked me to trust
Him. Prayer becomes empty and ritualistic when the Lord is absent and scriptural
passages without the Spirit only become letters that kill.
4.
Good compliments and praises from people around
us can be deceptive and can make us to become self-conceited. Men’s praise can
make us forget from where God picked us up and our estimation of ourselves
becomes bogus, knowingly or unknowingly. Fame and popularity fade, time renders
both hollow.
5.
Lastly, position of power and the privileges of
an office can make us to become self-conceited. We are often tempted to equate
an office to the person occupying the office, which is a lie. Positions of power
are transient. You can be in power today and out of power tomorrow. Every
position of power expires. King Saul overrated himself and got destroyed. In 1
Sam.13, Prophet Samuel delayed from coming to the camp in Gilgal. Saul felt he
could perform the same sacrifice like Samuel and asked them to bring him the
animals for offerings even when it was not in his office to do. Again, he came
back from a battle where obviously he didn’t do what God had asked him to do
and the first thing he did was to go and erect a monument for himself at Carmel
and moved on (Sam.15:12).
What is instructive is that the points listed above are not
bad in themselves but can get us corrupted except if we don’t walk wisely.
Why is self-conceit dangerous?
I will summarize the dangers of self-conceit with five
points:
1.
When we have an exaggerated opinion of ourselves, it
makes us to put up a “bold face”. We can cover things up because we do not want
others to know how weak we are. We can either give ourselves some reasons why
we ought to live the way we do or assume some level of familiarity and favour with
God.
2.
Self-conceit means that we are egoistic. We are
loud and want to always be heard and want to have our way. We always have
something to prove and show though we may be empty. It is all about impression.
Because the opinion is exaggerated, the image of the person so produced is like
a balloon which can easily be busted anytime.
3.
Self-conceit is a complex, a lie and a deception
which makes it very dangerous. You cannot underestimate the level of low one
can descend when you are self-conceited. Someone who is vain and egoistic can
do terrible things. Because self-conceit is about false pride and bloated self-importance
and worth, the person will have this sense of importance and indispensability
which breeds impunity. It has produced tyrants, self-righteous men, traitors
and men you cannot trust when the chips are down. Haman in Esther is a case in
point here.
4.
When we are self-conceited, we hurt people
around us and often find reasons for that. We may not care because we may feel
it is inevitable for us to hurt them. The world must revolve around us and we
must be the “celebrity” at the center of every conversation.
5.
Finally, when we are self-conceited, sooner or
later, we will have a big fall. It can be a fall into sin or into some other serious
life’s troubles. Why? Because, the person will not listen or give heed to warnings
and warning signs; a near-miss is not a reason to reflect instead is an
opportunity to boast; the person will depend on exaggerated abilities and his or her strength instead of depending on the Lord; there is this sense of false
security, “I can handle it”, which will ensure the person continues to live dangerously
until destruction comes.
The poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley
tells it all on the outcome of vain glory:
"My name is Ozymandias, king
of kings;
Look on my works, ye mighty and
despair.
Nothing beside remains. Round the
decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless
and bare
The lone and level sands stretch
far away.”
The poem is believed to be about Pharaoh
Ramesses II who was once considered very powerful and even divine, however, his
once intimidating monument lies in ruins in an unoccupied and abandoned desert sand. How time renders
the glories of yesterday's men to nothing. Our glories today will become tomorrow's abandoned relics and nothing.
In this time of Lent, may we all seek the Lord in humility. May we inculcate His mind and be clothed with His life. When we humble ourselves, it is possible to avoid Peter’s fall.
