On Arrogance, Forgiveness, and the Substance of Humility

"Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' So the last will be first, and the first last."
--Jesus Christ, Matthew 20:10-16


When you read the last verse, do you ever just hope it's true for those people that rise above you or are superior to you in some area, or have authority that they lord over you?  It's a pretty human notion to wish for our version of "justice."


What this verse is saying, in context, is that God does whatever He wants.


"Our God is in the heavens; He does all the He pleases."--Psalm 115:3


Essentially, we have no intrinsic rights whatsoever in regard to the Lord Almighty, which produces fear and freedom simultaneously.


We are afraid because we want our rights.  Our rights are meant to protect us, to keep others from taking from us or abusing us.  We're used to dealing with sinners every day, so it's not a wholly unfounded fear.


The problem with God's sovereignty comes from our own heart, not His power, because we fail to always trust Him.  The thing about God is that everything He does, or allows to happen, is for the best.


"What about Job?" you ask. "Job lost his entire estate and all of his children in the blink of an eye."


Yep.  And because of how Job responded--"the Lord gives, the Lord takes away, but blessed be the Lord"--we still tell his story thousands of years later as an example of great faith.  To this day and until the end of time, Job will encourage people he has never met because of the tragedy that befell him.


Job still called on God to treat him justly, however, and God merely told Job that men see merely their own place and time, but God sees the entire scope and is IN all times and therefore knows what is best for His creation.  Then God restored to Job more than he had lost.


"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding."--Psalm 111:10


Humility, as I know it, comes from this "good understanding."  It is "precision truth about one's self."  It is rightly seeing God, yourself and the world around you, all in right relation to each other.


Arrogance enters in when we displace one thing or give it a higher or lower position than it deserves.  It is arrogance that makes us think we can clean ourselves of our own problems.  It is arrogance that says, "No, Lord, I do not want to accept your mercy; I want to punish myself for my faults and mistakes so I can feel like I earn my own righteousness."


In reality, it's God's generosity that frees us and blesses us.  It is His Truth that shows us our true condition, not too high or not too low, so that we can navigate this life well.


In the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the Great Lion, Aslan, speaks to the young King Caspian: "You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve.  And this is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emporers on earth.  Be content."


And for when our arrogant heart wishes to condemn us: "By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything."--1 John 3:19-20