"And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."
1 John 2:28
I was reading this today and wondering about the difference between confidence and pride. Clearly, here, confidence is a good thing, and it also seems to be in some other places in the scriptures (Hebrews 10:35, Isaiah 30:15, Acts 28:31). In other places it doesn't seem to be too good (Micah 7:5, Proverbs 25:19, Philippians 3:3).
In reading up on it more I found a talk by Glenn L. Pace from the January 2005 Ensign. He explains that lacking confidence in ourselves is a very different thing from humility, and says "Ironically, both pride and a lack of self-confidence cause us to focus excessively on ourselves and to deny the power of God in our lives."
That's a really cool quotation, but to break it down a little I think it is saying that we can take either extreme too far. We need to have confidence in ourselves, not in a prideful way which makes us think that we are better and deserve more than everyone else, but in a *faithful* way, where we believe that we really are children of God and that we can do and become the things that he says we can. God teaches us that we can make a difference in the world, and he encourages us to reach our potential, and he asks us to serve others and make a positive difference in the world. On the other side, part of the whole mortal experience is also realizing that we need God... but not in a "wow, I'm a horrible person" type of way, but in a "I can accomplish and become so much more with God, it is better to always stick with him"
Like many things in the gospel, confidence seems to be something that we need in moderation, and also in a certain direction. Just like we shouldn't trust in the arm of flesh, but trusting God is A-OK. The same idea works with confidence... if we have confidence in God, then it is good. If we have confidence in riches, not so much. If we have too much confidence in ourselves or other people, it can interfere with listening to or obeying God, which means too much. If we have too little confidence (or love) for ourselves or other people, that can also interfere with our trust in God and our ability to serve others, which means too little. But as we direct our confidence and trust towards God, we're golden. In fact, he can help us regulate our own confidence levels if they get too high or too low. :)
Today, let's do what we can to abide in God, keep him around always, and have confidence, faith, and trust in him. Let's also work to balancing our confidence levels. Let's not let pride and arrogance get in the way of our relationships and our ability to be humble and kind... but on the other hand, let's also realize that it is okay to feel good about ourselves and confident as we approach whatever obstacles the day throws at us. It doesn't mean that we have thrown humility to the wind, or mastered everything in life, overcome every weakness and sin, or surmounted every obstacle. It just means that we trust God that he will help us be ready for whatever comes next... with faith, patience, and joy even. :)
1 John 2:28
I was reading this today and wondering about the difference between confidence and pride. Clearly, here, confidence is a good thing, and it also seems to be in some other places in the scriptures (Hebrews 10:35, Isaiah 30:15, Acts 28:31). In other places it doesn't seem to be too good (Micah 7:5, Proverbs 25:19, Philippians 3:3).
In reading up on it more I found a talk by Glenn L. Pace from the January 2005 Ensign. He explains that lacking confidence in ourselves is a very different thing from humility, and says "Ironically, both pride and a lack of self-confidence cause us to focus excessively on ourselves and to deny the power of God in our lives."
That's a really cool quotation, but to break it down a little I think it is saying that we can take either extreme too far. We need to have confidence in ourselves, not in a prideful way which makes us think that we are better and deserve more than everyone else, but in a *faithful* way, where we believe that we really are children of God and that we can do and become the things that he says we can. God teaches us that we can make a difference in the world, and he encourages us to reach our potential, and he asks us to serve others and make a positive difference in the world. On the other side, part of the whole mortal experience is also realizing that we need God... but not in a "wow, I'm a horrible person" type of way, but in a "I can accomplish and become so much more with God, it is better to always stick with him"
Like many things in the gospel, confidence seems to be something that we need in moderation, and also in a certain direction. Just like we shouldn't trust in the arm of flesh, but trusting God is A-OK. The same idea works with confidence... if we have confidence in God, then it is good. If we have confidence in riches, not so much. If we have too much confidence in ourselves or other people, it can interfere with listening to or obeying God, which means too much. If we have too little confidence (or love) for ourselves or other people, that can also interfere with our trust in God and our ability to serve others, which means too little. But as we direct our confidence and trust towards God, we're golden. In fact, he can help us regulate our own confidence levels if they get too high or too low. :)
Today, let's do what we can to abide in God, keep him around always, and have confidence, faith, and trust in him. Let's also work to balancing our confidence levels. Let's not let pride and arrogance get in the way of our relationships and our ability to be humble and kind... but on the other hand, let's also realize that it is okay to feel good about ourselves and confident as we approach whatever obstacles the day throws at us. It doesn't mean that we have thrown humility to the wind, or mastered everything in life, overcome every weakness and sin, or surmounted every obstacle. It just means that we trust God that he will help us be ready for whatever comes next... with faith, patience, and joy even. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment