Scripture

Luke 1:51-53

“He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”

Muse

As we enter the heart of Mary’s song of praise, we hear the confident words of a humble teenage girl explaining how God intends to flip the paradigm of society through the birth of Jesus. In these three verses, we see a clear dichotomy between God’s plan for the proud and for the humble. Because there is such serious language that deals with both, it seems necessary to split these verses into two parts. Today, we will focus on the scattering, falling, and expelling of the proud.

“He has shown strength with his arm,” is another reminder of how Mary’s outpour of praise comes from an inward knowledge of the word of God. When she talks about God “scattering the proud,” and “bringing down the mighty from their thrones,” I’m confident that she has in mind the Old Testament scriptures. Perhaps she is thinking of how God humbled Pharaoh by showing “the power of his mighty hand” over Egyptian gods one-by-one until Pharaoh finally let his people go (Deuteronomy 4:34). Maybe she had in mind the great king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who went from feasting at his throne to eating grass among wild animals because of his pride (Daniel 5:20-21). Not only did she know the history of God’s dealing with the proud, but I believe God gave her at least a glimpse of his ultimate plan of using the strength of his arm for salvation through Jesus (Isaiah 59:16). We know from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that God did exactly what Mary points out in these verses. Through Jesus, he scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, he brings down the mighty from their thrones, and he sends the rich away empty-handed.

Our World

Okay, odds are that you are not a king or queen in need of a royal dethroning. But what was the first thing you thought about when you woke up this morning? If I looked at your schedule for today, who is it primarily built around? If you’re anything like me, the answer to both of these questions is, “ME!” Here’s the thing—you don’t have to be outwardly building an empire to need a humbling sweep of God’s strong arm. Maybe you’re feeling pretty confident lately in your own righteousness. Jesus turns to a group of people like that in Luke 18:9-14 and tells a parable contrasting the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax collector. If you find yourself feeling pretty good about how much you gave this month, how consistent you are in spiritual disciplines, or how little you’ve been sinning lately, I would recommend reading tomorrow’s entry on humility.

You’re not off the hook, though, if you don’t relate to the pride of the Pharisee (a self-righteous pride). See, there’s another kind of pride that’s a bit more sneaky. The pride of timidity is a pride that says, “I can’t mess up because then people will see me as weak, or wrong, or a bad Christian.” I’ve been tempted with this kind of pride even in writing this entry: “What will people think of me if I say something wrong?” This approach ignores the grace of Christ and puts the weight of righteousness back on ourselves. If that’s you, I exhort you not to confuse timidity with humility. The apostle Paul warns against eye-service and people-pleasing in Ephesians 6:6-7, compelling us to do the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.

God is serious about pride. The proud heart is an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 16:5). Jesus says that pride is among the things within that can defile us (Mark 7:20–23). John MacArthur says that, “A proud person can’t worship God because they are too busy worshiping themselves.” What if our worship looked less like the world’s promotion of self, and more like Mary’s humble praise? How might our to-do lists, daily schedules, or even deep insecurities be renewed by Christ that we might look a little bit more like him this Christmas?

• Which type of pride have you seen more prevalent in your life? Pharisee pride or timidity pride?
  
• How are you promoting yourself right now?
  
• According to the Word of God, how can we be freed from pride?
  

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I know pride takes many forms. I know that I’m hindered from worshiping you when there is pride in my heart. Search the depths of my soul, O Lord, and expose my self-righteousness, my desire to people-please, or my discontentment with what I have. Replace it with the humility of Christ. Bring me low, so that your name might be lifted up.

Amen.