"For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?"
1 Corinthians 4:7
The Apostle Paul, the greatest of the apostles, and who "labored more abundantly than they all" (1 Corinthians 15:10), said in this same verse, "But by the grace of God I am what I am." Paul did not claim any credit for his success, but admits that it was "grace bestowed" upon him.
A certain man once said to a friend, "I am a self-made man." His friend replied, "That certainly relieves God of an embarrassing responsibility." If you are a self-made man, you must have had some material to begin with. You are a success in business, but you could not have been if God had not endowed you with a mind. You had no choice in the matter of your birth. You did not choose your parents, your environment. You could have been born an idiot. You have excelled in athletics, but who gave you that strong body? You could have been a paralytic. You are successful as an orator, but who gave you your voice? No one asked you about it, but you were born with that great blessing. Maybe you are a preacher who has had great apparent success. But who called you to be a preacher? Who ordered the circumstances of your life - praying parents, faithful ministers? Who influenced you to be saved and to dedicate your life to Christ? You cannot even claim credit for believing in Him, for even saving faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay but by the law of faith" (Romans 3:27).
A proud Christian is an immature Christian. He is an anomaly. Christian growth is expressed in John the Baptist's confession, "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Are you a self-made man? Then you make of yourself a god. Oh, for true humility! Stop making a "snow man" which will not endure the Sun of Righteousness.
"Bread For Each Day"
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