DAILY TEXT, Today Sunday October 6, 2024,  Pride comes before a crash, and arrogance before a fall (Prov. 16:18).

Let us examine the Scriptures every day 2024

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Pride comes before a crash, and arrogance before a fall (Prov. 16:18).

While Solomon was a good servant of Jehovah, he had a balanced view of himself. On one occasion, when he was young and had only recently been on the throne, he recognized his limitations and asked Jehovah for guidance. (1 Ki. 3:7-9) He also realized the danger of becoming proud. Unfortunately, he eventually forgot his wise words. After a few years of reigning, he became proud and began to ignore God’s standards. For example, the Law included this command for Hebrew kings: “He must not have many wives, or his heart will turn away.” (Deut. 17:17) Solomon disobeyed this law and had 700 wives and 300 concubines. (1 Ki. 11:1-3) Perhaps he thought he had everything under control. In time, he suffered the consequences of turning away from Jehovah. (1 Ki. 11:9-13) w22.05 23 par. 12.

What lessons do we learn from meditating on Jesus' humility?

Jesus always viewed himself as humble and poised. Before he came to earth, he did many wonderful things in his service to Jehovah. Colossians 1:16 says that “through him everything else in the heavens and on the earth was created.” Apparently, at his baptism, Jesus remembered things he had done when he was in heaven with his Father. (Matt. 3:16; John 17:5) But he didn’t become proud when he remembered all that. In fact, he never acted as if he were superior to others. He told his disciples that he had not come to earth “to be served, but to serve others, and to give his life as a ransom for many people.” (Matt. 20:28) He admitted that he couldn’t do a single thing on his own. (John 5:19) How humble Jesus was! Don’t we want to follow his good example?

How do Jesus' words help us have a balanced view of ourselves?

Jesus taught his disciples to have a balanced view of themselves. He once assured them: “The hairs of your head are all numbered.”​—Matt. 10:30. How comforting these words are, especially if we tend to view ourselves in a negative light. They remind us that our heavenly Father cares deeply about us and that we are precious to him. If Jehovah believes we deserve to serve him and live forever in the new world, who are we to question his judgment?

As The Watchtower recommended a few years ago, what balanced approach should we take? And as seen in the photos on page 24, what blessings do we miss out on if we focus too much on ourselves?

About 15 years ago, The Watchtower encouraged us to have a balanced view of ourselves. It said: “Of course, we don’t want to think so highly of ourselves that we become conceited. But we also don’t want to go to the other extreme and conclude that we are worthless. Rather, our goal should be to form a realistic view of ourselves, taking into account both our strengths and our limitations. One Christian woman put it this way: ‘I am not evil personified, nor am I the best person in the world. I have strengths and weaknesses, just like everyone else. ’” Do we realize that it is very good to view ourselves in a balanced way?

Why does Jehovah offer us wise counsel?

In his Word, Jehovah offers us wise counsel. He does this because he loves us and wants us to be happy. (Isa. 48:17, 18) The best decision we can make is to put Jehovah first in our lives. That is what will make us truly happy. We will avoid many of the problems that people who focus too much on money, work, or themselves have. So let us always be wise and make Jehovah’s heart rejoice!—Prov. 23:15.

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