Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Recognizing When we Think We Are God

In today's first reading, Ezekiel 28: 1-10, the Lord again has strong words for us through the prophet. The prophet is asked to give the prince of Tyre the following message, a message that I believe is applicable to many today who see themselves as gods and to each of us when we assume the position of a of a god over others:  "Because you are haughty of heart, you say, 'A god am I!...'And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god....[Y]ou have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your riches--therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have thought yourself to have the mind of a god, therefore I will bring against you foreigners, the most barbarous of nations....They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die...Will you then say, 'I am a god!"

Those may sound like very harsh words.  Yet you and I need to pray for the grace of humility. There is no other god but God alone.  We need God's mercy, as does everyone else.  When we become haughty as did the prince of Tyre,  we need to be transformed by grace.  When we assume power that is not ours,  as did princes or rulers of old and, more closely to home,  as did St. Paul on his way to persecute Christians, we need to be knocked off our "horse".  When we assume the attitude of being over others and better than others; when we grow self-sufficient to the point of not realizing our need for a Savior, then we, too, need God's intervention in our lives.

Will we make efforts now to know who we are and who God is, or will we wait until we are dying to realize that we are not a god?

What do I, what do  you, need to do to grow in humility?


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