| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Carl" |
| Date: |
15 Dec 2007 01:48:14 PM |
| Object: |
The Bunny Ears Test |
Todd Strandberg writes about what he considers to be arrogance within the
Christian community. I particularly found his "bunny ears test" to be
amusing. I hope the points he raises might give we Christians something to
ponder about our own behavior.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
The Bunny Ears Test
by Todd Strandberg
Arrogance is one of the most pervasive problems in society. It is basic to
human nature, and has been the source of much conflict and heartache.
Arrogance can be described as natural confidence gone sadly awry. Rather
than the self-assurance born of knowing our own strengths and limitations,
arrogance admits no limits.
It might also be described as having a lack of accountability. It's a
character trait often seen in elected officials who assume the public isn't
watching when they spend taxpayers' dollars. Or it could be anyone who
assumes God isn't looking when he misbehaves.
The arrogant person assumes his views and opinions are "The Truth." He
claims to have no weakness and usually rejoices in finding flaws in others.
But imperfections are inherent in being humans, so the arrogant, like
everyone else, always have feet of clay, however well hidden they may be.
Pride is a Major Problem
For a long time, I didn't pay much attention to what type of ego any given
Christian leader might have. If someone preached the gospel message, it didn't
matter to me if this individual thought he was God's gift to mankind. I now
realize that arrogance is where a lot of error begins.
Satan uses the spirit of self-importance as a stepping stone to deception.
If he can't gain control of the mind in one step, he'll gladly accept pride
as a down payment.
The Bible offers much about pride--none of it positive. The Word of God
gives numerous examples of how arrogance can lead people to destruction. The
Book of Proverbs has so many warnings against pride, God could have just as
well added a subtitle to the book, "Keeping Your Ego in Check."
"A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in
spirit" (Prov. 29:23).
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov.
16:18).
"Wise people don't make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their
folly" (Prov. 12:23 NLT).
"People who listen when they are corrected will live, but those who will not
admit that they are wrong are in danger" (Prov. 10:17 TEV).
"Arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be
respected" (Prov. 29:23 TEV).
"Too much honey is bad for you, and so is trying to win too much praise"
(Prov. 25:27 TEV).
The "Love Yourself" Gospel
There is little teaching about arrogance today because it is so widely
embraced by the Christian world. Christians are told self-esteem is the path
to happiness, and godliness is reflected in the amount of material goods we
possess and brag about.
At one point, a minister who had great wealth would try to hide his earthly
horde. Today, ministers often demonstrate no shame in showing off their
fancy cars,
airplanes, and mansions.
The prosperity preachers need to be mindful of how the following verse
runs contrary to their lifestyle: "And again I say unto you, It is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God" (Matt. 19:24)
Some Word of Faith preachers say this verse means the opposite of what it
seems to imply. Jesus is basically saying the eye of a needle is a door, and
we believers have the key. As my old friend David Reagan would say, "If the
plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense or you will end up with
nonsense."
The world is of full of preachers who spread false doctrine. A Christian
seeking to learn God's truth needs to avoid any ministry that is not focused
exclusively on Christ. Because the devil is so dedicated to spreading
deception, I stay away from any preacher who is preoccupied with
self-exaltation.
"Do not love the world, or the things that are in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because all that is
in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life; which is not from the Father, but from the world. And the
world with its lust is passing away but he who does the will of God abides
forever" (1 John 2:15, 17).
How To Spot Arrogance
Nearly every major Christian ministry has its own website today. Each week,
I get dozens of requests from people asking me what I think of the people
who run some of these sites.
There isn't enough time for me read through every article to see what these
people believe. I normally look for signs of arrogance to get a rough idea
of what type of person the site is representing. Here are three areas I
focus on:
Money -
Whenever I visit a Christian website, the first thing I look for is what
they are providing to the public at no cost. Several Christian ministries
take in millions of dollars from products they sell, yet they offer almost
nothing on their site. Ministries that are focused on the gospel message
should offer materials free to the public. A self-centered person will
always have merchandise as a primary focus.
Link Page -
Most people don't realize it is beneficial to have links to other websites.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo award ranking partly based on the
number of links a site has to other domains. Those who are selfish normally
won't have a link page. They either don't think any other sites deserve
their endorsement, or they fear people will escape their little kingdom.
Pictures -
A lot of people who are arrogant feature several pictures of themselves on
their site. One site of a well-known preacher contains eight images of his
mug within the first three inches of the page. I'm at a complete loss to
understand the practical reason for such a massive amount of redundancy.
The Bunny Ears Test
I have my own special test to measure the modesty levels of prophecy
speakers I meet at various conferences. This test has served me quite well
in determining the demeanor of men with whom I wish to establish a Christian
business relationship.
Each year, I go to several prophecy gatherings across the nation. One of my
favorites is the Tulsa conference hosted by Thy Kingdom Come. The primary
purpose for going to these meetings is to learn about prophecy, but another
reason for going is to meet with like-minded Christians who share the same
interest in prophecy.
Several years ago, we started the practice of wearing silly hats at the
Tulsa conference. One year, I had a pair of bunny ears that I asked all the
speakers to wear for a photo op. Most were more than happy to accommodate
me, but some refused.
I found "the bunny test" to be very effective in separating the
self-important people from the true servants of God. I have also used it at
several other conferences. It wasn't always the bunny ears. The key was
something that would trigger the response, "I am too important to do
something like that."
Modesty is the Best Policy
There is a very practical reason we should behave with modesty. People who
act arrogantly often suffer embarrassment when their plans fail.
Jesus showed how the lack of tact can lead to humiliation in his parable
about being invited to a marriage banquet: "When you are invited by any one
to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more
eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will
come and say to you, `Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with
shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the
lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, `Friend, go up
higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table
with you. 11 For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:7-11).
A website run by Gawker Media recently came out with a book entitled, The
Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media. The book was mocked in the press
because it only sold a scant 242 copies a month after its release. One
reviewer of the book said, "Before Gawker Media gets carried away with
dominating the world, maybe it should try to master the book industry."
In Isaiah 14:13, Lucifer provides one of the most stunning examples of
arrogance recorded in the Bible. He said in his heart, "I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."
If Lucifer had a more modest view of himself, he would not have lost such an
important role. He gambled everything on a futile bid for power, and ended
up with nothing.
Freedom from Yourself
In order to be productive in the Kingdom of God, it's important to have a
humble attitude. Many people think humility is about having a low opinion of
one's self. True humility is beneficial because it frees us from
preoccupation with ourselves. A humble person makes a realistic assessment
of himself without illusion or pretending to be something he is not.
Someone who is prideful worries about fame, reputation, success, or failure.
A humble person does not have to wear a mask in order to look good to
others.
Sometimes, people who achieve great success fall flat on their face once
fame and fortune come their way. Famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison fell into
this trap.
Edison achieved great success by inventing the motion picture camera, the
phonograph, and a commercially useful light bulb, but he didn't always have
such good luck. Edison had two huge failures that were driven by his
inflated ego.
He was stubbornly convinced that AC power was inferior to DC power. Edison
launched a propaganda campaign by electrocuting animals in public,
demonstrating that AC was too dangerous to be useful. Because DC currents
can only travel a few miles, it was doomed to lose out to the AC current,
which can travel hundreds of miles.
Edison's second big failure was his iron ore project. In the 1880s and
1890s, he poured nearly all the money he had earned from his inventions into
developing a separator device that would extract iron from low-grade ores.
What little ore he was able to extract was in a powder form, and this
created a huge problem for transportation and the refinement process. Henry
Frick, of Carnegie Steel, said that he would no longer buy the ore: "What
doesn't blow away in the railroad cars," he wrote Edison, "blows out the
chimney as soon as the furnace is fired."
If it had not been for the fame, Edison may have realized the practicality
of AC power. If he had a more humble approach to his iron ore business, he
might not have lost his personal fortune.
"God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6).
Arrogance and Preaching Don't Mix
The nature of preaching opens itself to criticism of arrogance. Anyone who
stands in front of others and tells them they are hell-bound sinners should
expect a negative reaction.
True preaching is not arrogant because the first act of preaching begins
with hearing God's Word, which is an act of submission and humility. If a
minister does the right thing by proclaiming God's message, if people still
have problems, they need to take it up with the Author of the message.
Any minister who comes across as conceited destroys the authority of the
message he is trying to promote. Preachers should never view themselves as
the conduit of grace; they are simply ambassador pointing people to the
source of salvation.
Jonah was a very arrogant preacher. He was called by God to proclaim
repentance to the Ninevites, but he did not think they were worth saving. It
required a trip into the belly of a giant fish to convince Jonah to obey
God. Even after witnessing the Ninevites repenting from their sin in
sackcloth and ashes, he still expected the Lord to punish them.
The most brilliant mind on earth can not improve on the master plan already
laid out in the Bible. All anyone can hope for is being a good plagiarist. I
don't take credit for any of my ideas. My name might be on them, but God is
the true author.
Men may like the role of being shepherds, but they need to realize that the
flock they are tending belongs to God.
"To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's
sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be
shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not
because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not
greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to
you, but being examples to the flock" (1 Pet. 5:1-3).
.
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