Healthy self-worth, dangerous conceit, and Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” [1 Timothy 1:15]

An individual once questioned the sincerity of my ‘constant’ reference to my struggles with anger, within the context of the above excerpt from the first of apostle Paul’s final series of letters [which together with 2 Timothy and Titus forms the Pastoral Epistles]. I can reflect that my anger struggles are rooted in pride and pride sometimes resulting in self-conceit. Why do I find it difficult to overcome pride and anger? Several agents impact personality, including genetics and environment, how we were parented, and societal variables. I inherited complicated genes [pride, anger, boastfulness, perfectionism, sacrifice, magnanimity, sincerity, devotion, care, excellence, diligence, honesty, loyalty, respect, resilience, etc.] from my progenitors. When I eventually left home for university in a town inhabited by a sizeable number of my wider Royal family [https://www.south-ibiekingdom.com/], arrogance and boastfulness that pervaded my immediate environment took over my personality.

I believe God saw in me more than I saw in myself, because of some inexplicable self-preservative spirit in me [the capacity to suffer]. But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” [Acts 9:15-16]. Converting from Islam to Christianity in the first place was viewed by family as apostatic and therefore attracted a ‘banishment’ from my ancestral royal throne, which is based on Islamic precepts. Note, however, that I constantly forget that I am earthily royal! That is because having been chosen by Jesus, I became a royal priest [rather than an earthly prince], a work-in-progress for holiness, and God’s special possession, that I may declare his praises for calling me out of darkness into his wonderful light [1 Peter 2:9].

So, 30 years on as a baptized disciple of Christ, how have I fared with pride, anger, and boastfulness? “So, I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” [Romans 7:21-25]. Would you regard this as self-abasement by Paul? How do we draw a line between humility and wanting to gain attention through self-abasement? I have struggled, since my relocation to the UK, with understanding why you are popular with people here when you make negative declarations about yourself – e.g., “I am rubbish”, etc. This is called ‘humility’. But you dare not say things like, “I’m the best”, and you are labelled as arrogant, boastful, and self-conceited. What does Proverbs 18:21 say? “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit”. So, why does the culture prefer ‘fake humility’ when in fact this is just pride on its back masquerading as humility? However, there is a caution in Proverbs 27:2 thus: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips”.

And when is expression of self-worth healthy? Why should appreciating your own achievement be wrong, and why must you go to the other extreme of belittling yourself? When you attend job interviews, do you tell interviewers that you are “rubbish” and expect to clinch the job? Healthy self-worth is liking and valuing yourself as a person. It is about making decisions and asserting yourself. It is about recognizing your strengths and positives. It is about feeling able to try new or difficult things. It is about showing kindness towards yourself and moving past mistakes without blaming yourself unfairly. It is about taking the time you need for yourself and believing you matter and are good enough. It is about believing you deserve happiness. You cannot own negative, condemnatory words spoken and projected unto you by others…please reject such negative declarations concerning you [Ephesians 4:29]. We know from Romans 3:20-24 that no one is righteous in God’s sight by human efforts. Rather, we all have sinned, we fall short of the glory of God but justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. However, note that we cannot take God’s grace for granted [Romans 6:1-11] and continue to DELIBERATELY sin [Hebrews 10: 26-31].

Who are wolves in sheep’s clothing then [Matthew 7:15]? They do not necessarily have to be modern day false preachers/prophets. Rather, they are everywhere – in your home, in the workplace, in your neighborhood, in the church, etc. But how do you recognize them? It only takes a clever wolf wearing the skin of a sheep as a disguise to sneak by the vigilant shepherd and get into the flock undetected. They appear innocent, serving and pretend to be knowledgeable, but they have ulterior motives and would use all kinds of strategy to hide their real intentions. They pretend to be deeply friendly or kind, but they cannot keep up the act forever, because they will eventually reveal their real identities. They pretend to be interested in whatever you are doing, and you will believe that they care. However, when they see you where they want and wish you to be, they do [and say vile things] just enough to keep you discouraged; they aim to damage your self-worth. When you are in crisis, their vile words and actions show exactly who they truly are [Job 4-23].

I therefore use conceit within the context of wolves masquerading as sheep [2 Corinthians 11:14]. Everything is ‘great’ with them, and they see no need to be taught – they believe they know everything! They are a law unto themselves and believe in their own ‘doctrines’. Shockingly, wolves do not think they have anything they need to work on! They wear a mask and know how to fish for compliments while appearing 'humble'. They take excessive pride in hearing their own voices and are quick to accuse and judge the brethren [Revelation 12:10; Matthew 7:1]. The conceited are obsessed with themselves and may hide that self-obsession with self-deprecating remarks. However, it is obvious that ‘self’ is their primary interest. The dangerousness of self- conceit can be found in 2 Timothy 3:1–5, where it is associated with godlessness. The conceited present a defensive, reactive, self-righteous [Ecclesiastes 7:16] and blameless [Romans 3:10] persona; they are liars [Revelation 21:8] and blatant deflectors [Genesis 3:12]. They find it difficult to give compliments or rejoice with others; in their DNA is deep-seated envy, and it takes the Holy Spirit to see through the artificial persona they try to portray [Proverbs 20:5].

I am convinced that pride is at the root of most sins - including self-conceit. Do we [in humility] consider others better than ourselves [Philippians 2:3]? I am equally convinced that this is a very difficult thing to do because of our instinct to look out for “Number One” [self]. Do we do critical self-reflections and submit to being taught [1 Peter 5:6; James 4:10]? That is the first step towards acknowledging that we are not the center of the universe but Jesus Christ [John 3:30]. But be free in Christ and not put pressure on yourself to impress people [Galatians 5:1;13].

Closing Judas Iscariot was a wolf [John 12:6; John 6:64-71], a traitor [John 13:18] and a hypocrite [John 12:4-6]. There are many wolves in our midst, and we must test their spirits to see whether they are of God or not [1 John 4:1]. Today [15/04/2022] Christians commemorate the suffering and execution of Jesus Christ by the Roman-occupying empire in Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is meant to be a solemn day, observed by some with a day of fasting. Christ's death provided the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sins, thereby making the cross, one of the defining symbols of Christianity. After Jesus resurrected from death, he commanded that we should go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he has commanded us [Matthew 28:19 -20]. How are we obeying Jesus in appreciation of the sacrifice he made for us? Or have we fallen away in our hearts… just coming to church/bible talks, not bringing friends, or unbelieving family, or even strangers [Revelation 3:16]? For true disciples of Christ, everyday is Good Friday [Luke 9:23-26] and if you are not already living each day like it is your last, then wake up NOW! [Revelation 16:15; Matthew 24:43; 1 Thessalonians 5:4; 2 Peter 3:10].

Shalom!