Titus 1:7

"For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain," Titus 1:7

At church, our pastor is preaching through Titus. Yesterday was on the verse above. It has been a great study so far, and coming from the situation we had been in, quite interesting to study what the Bible says about elders in the church.

As we looked at what it meant to not be self-willed our pastor talked about pride vs. humility. "A self-willed man (or woman) is a self centered man, and at the heart is pride."

"Pride is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin." John Stott

He recommended a book by C.J. Mahaney, which I highly recommend also, "Humility: True Greatness".

He also gave this little chart on Our View VS. God's View. I found it very helpful in my struggle with dealing with "fear of man" (pride).

We look at the outward; God looks at the inward.
We value popularity; God values character.
We look at intelligence; God looks at the heart.
We honor those with money; God honors those with integrity.
We talk about what we own; God talks about what we give away.
We boast about whom we know; God notices whom we serve.
We list our accomplishments; God looks for a contrite heart.
We value education; God values wisdom.
We love volume; God notices quality.
We live for fame; God searches for humility.
Our view is shallow; God's view is deep.
Our view is temporary; God's view is eternal.