1 Corinthians 10:12-13
So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.
Paul didn’t envision an ice rink when he wrote verse 12. But he sounds like every parent who has watched their first-time skaters wobble on those intimidating blades, briefly glide, then grasp the closest railing. They know that injury is less likely to happen on the sidelines and more likely to occur after the dozen laps when their beginners grow less shaky and start making their way to the middle of the rink. That’s where the spinning, leaping, and showing off usually occurs.
Humility is a basic ingredient in the kind of confidence that is able to uphold us, so we need to keep an adequate supply of it. No matter how tall we stand, or how fast we can spin, human frailty is always a part of our condition. That’s a fact common to all. If we could graph the moments when a deadly sin like lust becomes most harmful, we would surely find that humility was conspicuously absent.
Lust appears deadliest when it is so controlling that it dismisses the virtues and gifts that have something important to offer, like reason and good judgment.
Uncontrolled lust robs us of the truthful perspective about who we and others are, and what God wants for and from us all. Finding the balance between insecurity and arrogance is tricky, but it can be done. The blend of humility and confidence is a beautiful sight.
Consider
How do you keep humility in stock?
Pray
God, teach us how to move through our lives with the confidence that comes from you. Amen.