Dear Brethren and Sisters:-It may surprise you a little when I say that I am going to play the part of a policeman and serve a warrant on you this afternoon, and of course you are all anxious to know the crime that I am going to charge you with, whether murder, robbery, or what. It is something worse than that. I know you would be inclined to say, What can be worse than those things? The thing I consider so much worse is PRIDE.

Well, it is such a far more serious matter than murder or robbery because you or I do not want to commit murder, or rob anyone, but there is great danger along the line of pride. Our subject may be mentioned as the Comparative results of Pride and Humility, and we will note Jas. 4:5,6, "Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."

I am sure, dear friends, there is no subject more important than this, yet it is constantly one of the hardest subjects to talk about, one reason being, the very people who need it are the last people ready to accept or believe it. I find that those who have the largest measure of pride are the very ones who would rebel at the thought of pride in their hearts. They are inclined to think of pride for other people, and they pass over the pride they themselves possess. As an illustration, I heard of a minister in one of the denominations who was considerably interested in our views of the Scriptures. I was glad to see he had begun to see a few of the things, but found soon that he had an awful measure of pride. While talking with him he said, I am reputed to be the most able Bible scholar in Ohio. I never say it, but everybody else does. Brother Barton, if you want to know anything about the Bible, write me. I thought the poor man needed some help, and so I said, I am glad that you are beginning to rejoice in some of these things, but there is one little warning I would like to give you, and that is this-no matter how great a [PE200] blessing these may bring to us, we are going to lose it if our hearts are not in accord with the spirit of God. If our hearts are full of pride it will undo all the good from God's Word. So, brother, while you are studying these things, don't forget to cultivate humility.

Yes, I know pride is an awful thing. Sometimes when looking over my congregation and seeing how proud the women are over their hats I can hardly stand it, yet I know some do wear them because of pride.

There are different kinds of pride, and one of those is the one which causes a man to think he knows it all.

Another illustration: I had taken dinner at the home of a sister and was impressed with the fact that she was subject to pride. I did not like to judge her, but the things she said and the way she acted, led me to think she was being injured in that way. That afternoon I gave a discourse specially for her benefit-I had her in mind-of course I did not tell them all that I meant her. I was careful when making the remarks for her, that I would look in another direction, but I had her in mind. After the meeting she started to walk right toward me, and I said to myself, I think she must have realized I meant her. She said, O, Brother Barton, I am so glad you took up that subject today, because there are some people in this room that just needed that. She applied it to everybody but herself.

You do not know whom I have singled out this afternoon; imagine that it is you and then you will be on the safe side. If it fits your case, make the application. I am not much in the habit of talking about things that we do not need. Some ministers would say, These bad things I mention I know you don't do, but there are people up in Kentucky, and New Orleans, etc., that do those things. I do not do like that. If I know of anything that the brethren in other places need, I will wait and tell them when I get there. If I know of something that the friends need here at the convention at Tampa, I am going to tell them. Suppose you were sick and sent for a doctor; if he left medicine for you to take, and when he would return he would ask, Is the medicine gone, how are you feeling now, are you well? No, doctor, worse than before. Why, I was sure that medicine would cure you, yet you are considerably worse. I never came back, for I thought it would cure you. Did you take the medicine according to directions? No, doctor, I did not take it, I got my brother to take it. Well, no wonder! Don't see that your brother takes this medicine, take it yourself, and in that way you will get the good out of it.

The first reason why it is so hard to talk on this subject is that those who most need it are the least willing to believe it.

Another reason is because of the mistaken conception that is so [PE201] commonly held respecting the nature of pride and humility. A great many things pass for humility that are not. Furthermore, a great many things are considered evidences of pride which are not. I recall an experience along this line a few years ago. At the supper table a sister made the remark, I am glad to know that I have no pride. I have ever so many fine rings, and would not pride prompt me to wear them? Is not that a proof that I have not pride? O, no, sister, sometimes it is pride that prompts one from wearing rings, they think they are not as fine as others wear. It is really pride that keeps them from wearing them. She said, I will have to admit that there is a lesson for me there. It is not that which keeps me from wearing them, but I will have to admit that I always had such ugly fingers, etc., that I decided the best way was not to attract attention to them, was to keep from wearing the rings. She realized that pride was back of the matter, and what she considered an evidence of humility was really an evidence of pride. Another illustration along this line. In another place there was a gentleman, a Dunkard; some of these will not wear buttons, but wear hooks and eyes. This gentleman came to me and said, I have enjoyed your talk very much, but have a question for you. Do you wear that necktie to please God or men? Yes, I wear it to please God. No, you don't. You should not have asked me if you knew. Well, how can you? I will tell you; suppose, for instance, I had a magnificent diamond pin in my tie. Could I wear it to the glory of God? No. I agree with you. One reason would be, some people in my audience would not pay any attention to what I might say, but their attention would be upon the pin. They would say, My, what a flashy pin for a minister to wear. How much did he pay for it? Is it real, or imitation? Instead of my talk glorifying God, they would be paying attention to the pin. I could not wear it to the glory of God. I could not go without a necktie for the reason that they would say, Is that a part of his religion? I don't want people to think about me at all, because I wear a magnificent pin, or because I have no necktie on. I want them to think of what I am saying, not peculiar in either extreme. Thus, dear friends, we can see that good gentleman thought it was an evidence of humility. The lack of a necktie would not mean humility. We can even be proud of our humility. No matter what the form of pride, we want to get away from it, realizing that God sets a high value upon a humble heart.

Still another thought, not only is it necessary for you and me to recognize something of the value of humility and the danger of pride, but furthermore, that we will have a love for humility, which will lead us to make great efforts to gain it. You remember the way the Scripture reads in Philip. 2:8, "And being found in fashion as a man, he [PE202] humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." We see the same thought is found in 1 Pet. 5:6, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time." Also in Luke 14:11, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." We want not merely humility, but we want to humble ourselves, so that in due time God may see fit to exalt us.

What will pride do for us, and what will humility do for us? We want that as we recognize the difference between humility and pride, to strive for humility. The text quoted at the beginning of our talk, Jas. 4:5, was from the Authorized Version, and is not a good translation. We will now notice it from the Revised Version or the Diaglott, "Or think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain. Doth the spirit that he made to dwell in us long unto envying?" Do you think the Scriptures speak in vain when it tells us of the grand things humility will do for us? Surely not. God's Word does not speak in vain.

The first results of pride and humility are that pride will cheat us out of so many blessings, but humility will lead us into so many blessings. We often hope that God will bless us. He surely is going to bless us. There are blessings today, yesterday and tomorrow, but the question is whether we will be in the attitude of heart to get them. If we have the spirit of humility, things that might be an awful curse to others will have in them the elements of a great blessing to us. On the contrary, if we have the spirit of pride, things that might be a great blessing to others will be an awful curse to us. The blessings that we get depend largely upon the humility we possess. Some may be inclined to say, I thought our blessings were in proportion to our knowledge. No, but in proportion to your humility.

If you have come to this convention with a heart full of humility, you are going to carry away a blessing. On the other hand, we realize many respects in which pride will rob us of blessings. At this convention some brother might give in his testimony some helpful thoughts, but if your heart is filled with pride you will not get any blessings, because such a heart would think how much better you could have said it if you had been up there. You will criticize the poor language, or this or that thing, and you will have lost the blessing. The brother, on the other hand, that has the spirit of humility, can overlook such things and he will get a blessing therefrom. This is in harmony in the text, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." Also in 1 Pet. 5:5,6, "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves to the elders. Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be ye clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble."

Thus, dear friends, we rejoice that it is our privilege to deliver the [PE203] first lengthy discourse, because I trust that in God's providence what we have and may say will help you to get your heart into the attitude of carrying away the largest blessings, that you may go away more humble. I want to just mention a little instance that illustrates the blessing of humility which pride may rob us of. At the beginning of this year, some of us had the blessing of attending a convention at Memphis, Tenn. I was not there at the beginning, but during the time I was there, I do not suppose there were over a dozen visitors at the convention. It was such a small number that they adjourned from the hall they had arranged to hold the meetings in, to the rooms of one of the friends. I never attended a convention that I got such a great blessing from, and one reason was this: Those good friends at Memphis had made arrangements for a great crowd; they had a good big place to accommodate a large crowd, yet I do not remember one word of apology because there were not more present. Not one word of complaint because there was not more of a showing made. No one seemed to feel that the friends had not seen fit to come there, but they all seemed so determined to get such a blessing that they did not seem to remember that there was not a great crowd there. If pride had been there, we would have seen a sad look upon the faces of the members of that class, and would have heard in their testimonies some apologies for not having a bigger crowd. I am sure I got a greater blessing than in any previous convention. The same is true here. The blessing is not going to depend upon who is here, or the ability of the speakers, or the size of the congregation, or the kind of weather, or how much money is in your pocket, or how nice, or how poor a room you have, but it will depend upon the humility that is in your heart.

I want to call your attention to two points in this comparison, I want to remind you of the chastisement that pride will bring upon you and the way in which you will escape that chastisement if humility is in your heart. The Lord loves you and me too much to permit us to encourage anything in our hearts that will put us in danger. If your child picked up a dangerous reptile, you would not permit him to harbor it, but make him drop it quickly, and you would not be very gentle. The question is, that it must drop it, whether you are gentle or not. That is the way with the Heavenly Father; he realizes there is no experience we could have that would be so bad for us as that of pride. If we have it in our hearts, God will cause us to drop it, and he will use his rod to do it. You remember how Nebuchadnezzer, as we read in the 4th chapter of Daniel, after that humiliating experience, he made the statement that he extolled the God of Heaven, etc. You may wonder how the Lord will do it. I will just give you an example of an actual [PE204] instance in one of the classes.

A brother in a certain place became interested in the truth a number of years ago. He had been a drunkard, etc., and so when be became interested some of the people said, O, yes, you could not expect anything better than that. Look at the life he has led, of course there can be nothing in it. However, he lived a different life and made progress in the opposite direction. The Lord blessed him not only in allowing him to grow in grace, but allowed him to have opportunities to serve Him. He started a Bible class in the town, and a number became interested in nearby towns, so that he held meetings in various places, traveling 50 miles or more away from home. I recall one Sunday afternoon I came to town and he came to meeting. While out walking he said, Brother Barton, you know something of my previous experiences, something of my early life, how the Lord overruled it and how the Lord blessed me. I appreciate it very much, but I will have to confess that I had a great deal of pride over these things. Often the brethren would praise me, speak of my discourse, my ability as a speaker, etc. I knew it was not right to feel that way, but I liked to hear these things, liked to think of how much more I could do than they. I know it was pride and that I had to put it down, but I liked to have it that way. Well he said, the Lord had to humble me and he has done it. Some time ago I felt quite sick, so much so that I was not able to keep at my work. One day the man I am working for said, you are going to be laid up if you do not do something for yourself. This is the thing for you to do; get a glass of whisky and put something in it, and when you take that it will cure you. If you don't you will be sick in bed. I knew that was a good remedy, and I thought this is an exceptional case, and I decided to do it. He took the dose, and when he came to himself he was in bed and at home, and so heard what had happened. He had gone out of that store intoxicated, he staggered along the streets and on the corners he preached from one corner to another. As last he reached home and now he thought that all his effort had gone. He said, All the influence I have gained from the efforts of all these years has been overturned in just a few moments. He saw that pride was behind it and the Lord had used that way to humble him. He has just as effective a way to suit you, as that way for that one. You or I need not feel that we can stand in our own strength. There is no respect in which God can hold us up, except as we cultivate humility. He says in Isa. 2:11,12, "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall [PE205] be brought low." This is the day in which we live. So let us put down ourselves and let us try to exalt the Lord in our lives.

Third, there is nothing more calculated to lead us toward Second Death than pride. Nothing more calculated to lead us away from Second Death than humility. I do not believe that a single soul will be lost except pride be at the bottom of it all. It was so in Satan's case and the Bible teaches that it will be so with all who follow Satan's footsteps. The man or woman who cultivates pride is tying a noose with which to hang their self. Those who are trying to cultivate humility are making it less and less likely that their case will be a hopeless one. You know how it is expressed in Prov. 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

Fourth, pride would magnify our present experiences, while on the other hand humility will give us more and more of the present peace. Those having much pride in their hearts cannot enjoy the experiences of this life. It reminds me of an experience in my own life and I know that you can all realize some such experience in your own lives. How often might we have been robbed of a blessing in a meeting, because no more attention was called to us, not asked to lead in prayer, were not noticed as much as we thought we ought to have been. It is an easy matter for one to go to a convention and be robbed of a blessing, because of a little pride. Even at this convention, you may not have been met at the train, or in some way there was something regarding your room. You did not get a real pleasant one. Humility is inclined to say, well, we all make mistakes and I sometimes unintentionally slight others, and so some may with me. Pride says, I do not see why they made any mistake in my case, for when they knew how important I was, they should have had a delegation to meet me. Why, they did not pick out the choicest room for me! Your convention would be marred and you would be sitting here with this temptation of rebellion in your heart because pride is there.

Now, dear friends, that is the simple truth that pride will be the means of bringing so much pain and suffering in our lives which we might have escaped if we had more humility. I want to be frank and give you one of my experiences.

Many years ago, before I was a Pilgrim, I remember a local convention that I attended. Probably a hundred of the friends had assembled together and for two or three days they had a fine series of meetings. It had been arranged that I should give the closing discourse. I was to talk from 8 o'clock until about 9:30. The afternoon of the last day a brother came to the convention who had not been expected, one who had considerable ability and knowledge of the Lord's Word. The [PE206 brethren came to me and said, Brother so and so has come to the convention and will not be able to remain over to give us a talk and we must get him on the program tonight. Do you have any objections to giving him a part of your time? So it was arranged that way; I remember that at 8 o'clock this brother began his talk, and it was a very helpful talk. Anyone there could not have failed to get the good from the lesson. I got a blessing until the time was due for him to end his talk. Probably no one else knew it, but I did, for the brother went on and did not seem to be ready to stop. I did not enjoy it. He talked until a quarter of nine o'clock. Then he said, Why I have taken mostly all of Brother Barton's time. Some said, Go on, go on. But I did not. He did go on. He talked until 9 o'clock. I assure you, to me it was the most awful and horrible talk I ever heard, nothing helpful, nothing good; simply because there was pride in my heart. I was ashamed of myself. I went away from that convention and I had a sermon probably none of the others had. I determined that I never would be contented until I got to a place where a brother could take up all my time. The same is going to be true of every one.

Fifth, pride takes offense at little slights, etc. One with pride in their heart would say, when I talk to a group of friends some of them turn away. Again, pride would say, I think I could say as good things as others. Again pride would say, the brethren do not call on me, for I have lived in town for a long time. Humility feels different, and knows how to overlook that. This is expressed so well by the Psalmist in Psalm 69:30-32, "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God." The Psalmist is looking to the change from the Jewish to the Gospel dispensation, when the Lord will be more pleased with a humble spirit than a sacrifice of oxen and bullock. But, dear friends, the only ones that can say that are the humble ones. Pride would say, you do not mean to tell me that I am mistaken, that there is something better than those sacrifices? We can't be mistaken in the matter. The humble heart would say, I am glad that there was a new dispensation, I am glad that they did have to change their ceremonies, because now they see something better. Now then, dear friends, it will be so with us. If, for instance, you have a poor room here in Tampa, compared with what you think you ought to have, if you have pride you are going to be miserable, but if you were filled with humility, you will rejoice that such an one has a better room. So with regard to all of our experiences. If treated unkindly, the one with the spirit of humility will be glad with the thought that if it had been some one [PE207] else perhaps they might not have been able to stand it, but God has granted me the grace of humility that is not affected by anything of that kind-that is what humility would say.

Another illustration: A brother, at one convention during the course of a discourse, started into a conversation with another brother. The brother speaking was disturbed and called attention to the brother talking, and said, Don't you think you would better wait until the meeting is over? He said, I went out and walked up and down until it almost seemed that Satan had hold of me. I began to feel so bad toward that brother for attracting attention during the meeting to me. But the very fact that he brought it up led me to think that he had not gotten over it as thoroughly as he ought to have done. I am sorry to say he is one of those who have taken such a bold stand against our dear Brother Russell and his work. The Lord is going to permit you and me to have such tests. When they come, the thing for us to do is to rejoice that it is so. If such an experience should happen to you and you should be humiliated, don't get angry, but on the other hand say, I am glad, old flesh, that you got that whack, and I hope you will get another. Learn to keep the body under.

Sixth. We are not to suppose that those who manifest such terrible pride, that they got to that place in an instant, but if you cultivate pride in a litt le form, it makes some progress, and then it grows to larger proportions, leading to other things, and by and by pride becomes so awful that it is impossible to kill the monster. I remember the case of one brother who went to one of the denominations holding services and sat next to the one who was called upon to offer prayer. The man offered a good prayer, but when he sat down, the man said, what do you think of that, did you ever hear of a better prayer than that? Pride may not always assume such a bold manifestation as that, but pride is going to lead us to do awful things.

I would now call your attention to 2 Timothy , 3rd chapter. The Apostle is speaking of the last days. (Please take up your Bible and read this chapter.) Now it might seem that these various terms were just mentioned in a careless, off-hand manner, but if you notice carefully, there is an orderly arrangement, each one leading up to the next one, etc. Selfishness leads up to pride. Pride leads to blasphemy, to put something in God's mouth that he has not said. We might make a statement not in harmony with the Scriptures, and if we are proud we will not take it back, but twist the word and make it mean something it does not mean. Then the Apostle goes on further, speaking of those who are proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, etc. We can see it is pride that causes the lack of respect for parents, etc. [PE208]

Seventh. Another contrast is that pride will cause us to lose so many opportunities for service. On the contrary, humility will enable us to see so many opportunities for service. Pride makes us look for big opportunities, so that we overlook the opportunities that humility would think valuable. Pride makes us want special opportunities, and then we neglect opportunities, and then we neglect opportunities that would have been seen by humility. It is not for you and me to dictate as to the kind of opportunities we should have. We should thankfully grasp any opportunity that comes to us according to the wisdom that God has granted to us. Pride makes us look so much more at the visible, rather than at the invisible results. Pride leads a person to be discouraged, because it says, I cannot bring anybody into the truth by my efforts. Humility would say, I am not looking for visible results, I am going to be patient. I remember a brother who spoke to me about tract distribution, that he was permitted to distribute tracts to everyone, rich and great, educated and ignorant. That is just like our Heavenly Father, he is so rich that he does not need to care if it is apparently wasted in some condition, or, like the rain, it comes down upon the ocean and rivers, which are wet enough. It is the same God that sends down rain, who is sending out these tracts. The thing for us, is to be thankful that we have an opportunity, whether we see results or not. Pride does not want to distribute tracts, but says that it wants the kind of opportunities that will make us shine, or attract attention to themselves. On the contrary, humility says, let us be in the humble attitude that will say, my labor is not in vain in the Lord, whether I see results or not. I am going to keep on serving him anyway, knowing that he will overrule my efforts. I am serving him because I love him, not because I will win a measure of worldly influence.

Then, dear friends, there is another respect in which pride will cheat us out of so many opportunities. The Lord realizes that you were not fit for those great opportunities, that they would puff you up, that they would be an injury to you, and so he did not give you those great opportunities. Here is a brother who does not need to have as many natural abilities as you would expect. Well, now, dear friends, the Lord sees the humility in that brother's heart that will fit him to labor for the Lord's glory. God will not only take away opportunities that we have but will refrain from giving opportunities for service if we allow pride to come up in our hearts.

You have certain responsibilities in respect to the brethren you come in contact with, and so have I. We want to do that which would be helpful to others. This is especially true of pilgrims, elders, etc. Don't go to a brother and say, O, brother, that was grand. I don't know when we have heard such a discourse. You do not know how much such [PE209] expressions may have to do with the downfall of the brother. In this respect we ought to be careful regarding the Pilgrim brethren. We ought to act in such a way as not to injure them. We ought to say, I am glad the Lord consented to use you in this way. After one meeting, Brother Bohnet said, I am real glad the Lord sent such a grand discourse through such an old scrub as you are. Let us put it that way rather than too strong the other way. Therefore we realize that there are grand opportunities, and we are going to lose them if we have the spirit of pride, but if we have the spirit of humility we will get a rich blessing out of all these opportunities and we will find our opportunities increase. This is beautifully borne out in Prov. 29:23, "A man's pride shall bring him low, but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit."

Eighth. The man who has pride in his heart is not free. He is in bondage of the worst kind. On the other hand, the man who has the spirit of humility in his heart has the best kind of freedom. The man that is proud is not free. If called upon to pray he is not free to think of things that would be best to say, not free to utter his heart's feelings. He would say, I wonder what I had better say, that would sound good, that would sound better than Brother So-and-so said in his prayer before the meeting began. Pride makes one think too much about the congregation and to little about the Lord. The man who is an elder and is called upon to deliver his discourse, cannot do so if he has pride in his heart. Pride will say, what shall I talk about? He will say to himself, well, I think I could give a talk on patience, or on the other hand I might talk on the "wheel within a wheel," as found in Ezekiel, but if I talk on patience I think that will help the brethren very much. We all need that, and it would do more practical good. But if I talk upon the wheel within the wheels, I will get so much more glory out of it. The brethren may say, it was good, but not so good as Brother So-and-so said some time ago. It was all right, though, but we did not learn anything specially remarkable. But on the other hand they will say, was that not a fine talk? Don't you know something about the Bible, is not that just grand, -and I'll get so much more glory out of it. That brother is not free to help God's people and free to talk about the best things, discuss the things that will build up and strengthen the people of God. What a horrible bondage he is in. I remember at one place a brother said to me, I was thinking of giving next Sunday a talk on the line of the "wheel within the wheels," but now I think I will take another subject. We want to get free from the spirit of pride. If some other brother presents a view different from our former view, we would not be free to find out what view is correct if we have pride, and it will use all of its power to persuade us that the other party is wrong and that we are [PE210] right. No matter how much stronger his arguments are, they will not avail with us. Then, dear friends, we want to be free to know what is best and to do what is right, and free to say what will be most profitable and to seek to cultivate that spirit which will set us free, which will enable us to be of so much more benefit to the people of God.

Ninth. We find that there is nothing that is so dangerous that confronts us like pride, and there is nothing, on the contrary, that will enlighten us to the danger that confronts us like humility. We all have weaknesses and we know that they are continually manifesting themselves, and, dear friends, if we have the spirit of humility we will recognize them and fight the more strenuously against them. But on the other hand, if we have the spirit of pride, we will not recognize that we have any weakness, and will be blind to our danger.

Tenth. Pride will stir up trouble, while on the other hand humility will be inclined to prevent such a course. There are so many respects in which pride would have this influence. Take in a meeting of God's people, suppose some brother or sister says something not actually accurate. They probably had the right thought, but did not express it as accurately as they could have done. Humility would make allowance for that imperfect manner of expression, and humility would be inclined to straighten out that little mistake. But it is different with pride, which want to show how much it knows.

There is another respect in which pride stirs up trouble. It leads us to think we are not getting our share, that we are being crowded into the background, that we ought to have been elected an elder at the last election, we ought to be called upon more often for prayer, etc. The result is that it stirs up a root of bitterness, which is bound to find its way out in some way.

Eleventh. The Word of God testifies that pride will stand as a great barrier to our favor with God and his people, while on the other hand, humility will be such an aid. This was expressed very beautifully by the prophet, Isa. 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." We can see that the children of God who are cultivating pride in their hearts cannot have the communion with God that they would enjoy if pride were not there. I find the same thing true of God's people. If you have the spirit of pride in you, it is bound to influence your communion with the people of God. The bitterness in your heart is all the time coming up, and you cannot enjoy their fellowship. Furthermore, it is impossible for any of the children of God to feel the same toward [PE211] a brother who has a spirit of pride. I know, for instance, that if we find a brother who has become so touchy, on account of that pride-there is not enough attention being paid him, he thinks too much of himself, complaining of what this or that one has done, -we say, I do not care to be in his company, because I might say something that would offend him; therefore I avoid him, as being the best way to help him. Often we find friends frequently remark that someone does not treat them the same as they treat others. We realize that we must make a difference and if a brother is not in the attitude to be helped, we are not to force ourselves upon him, we might do him an injury. Pride leads to so much sorrow and discontent. On the other hand, humility is conducive of so much joy. I know that I love you so much that if I should see evidences of pride, I cannot feel very happy, for I realize the danger you are in. On the other hand, if you detect it in me, it will fill your heart with sorrow. I know I love you too much, and you love me too much, to grieve each other's hearts. Follow in the humble course that will cause joy in the hearts of our brothers, as we seek to copy the humility of our Master.

Thirteen. Pride will bring us more and more into harmony wit h the spirit of the world, but on the other hand, there is nothing that will take us out of the world more quickly than humility.

In the days of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, you remember when God told Moses to build the Tabernacle, he told him it should be so situated that the gate must always be turned toward the East and the Tabernacle toward the West, it did not matter how the ground lay. You see the thought. The High-priest could only get into the Most Holy place by going in the opposite direction from the way the world was turning. So we can get into the Most Holy place only by following our Master, which is contrary to the course of this world. But if we are cultivating the spirit of pride, it will be following the course of the world, which esteems pride, and considers it a virtue. The prophet expresses it in Mal. 3:15, "And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered." Other Scriptures show us the beauties of humility, as we read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," that means those who are humble, who are meek and who have that lowly spirit.

There are two forms of pride; first, self-esteem; second, approbativeness. The first has reference to our opinion of ourselves, the esteem in which we hold ourselves. The second has reference to the opinions other people have of us, and our ideas respecting the opinions that other people have of us, the desire that they shall have good opinions of us. Humility says, I appreciate it very much that God gave me a good home [PE212] in which I was trained, and therefore had an advantage that I could not have had otherwise. We are to have that kind that says, I am thankful God has given me as many privileges as I have. Pride makes us think we are more important than almost anybody else. Other people make mistakes, but I don't. Other people do not make enough of me.

Referring to our opening text, do you think the Scriptures say this in vain? Don't you think pride must be an awful thing, when the Bible says so much against it, and don't you think humility must be a glorious thing, when it says so much about it and encourages us to strive for it?

Dear friends, may God in his grace help you and me to think that every lesson in our daily lives will be along the line of humility, that we may at last be accounted worthy to attain the most exalted place in the universe that God could ever give to anyone, and that is to be associated with the Lord Jesus. Amen.