"For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Matthew 23:12
Humility
by S. Baring-Gould M.A.
Isaiah, Ezekiel and the apostle John saw in vision the glory of heaven and the throne of God and near it there were four beasts "full of eyes within and without" - Revelation 4:8. That is to say the beasts saw all that was within them as well as all that was outside them.
We are full of eyes without. We see everything that is going on among our neighbors and a great deal which is not there also, but we have no eyes for seeing anything within. We know nothing of ourselves, our own faults, and our own errors.
We see every wrong thing done by a neighbor, we have eyes for this, but we see no wrong done by ourselves. We have no eyes for that.
We see all the weakness of others, we have eyes for this, but we see none of our own weakness. We have no eyes for that.
We see all the folly of others, we have eyes for this, but for our own stupid acts and words we are blind. We have no eyes for that.
It would be better if we were well supplied with eyes within, instead of so many eyes without. It would be better for our neighbors and it would be better for ourselves.
In the gospel, we hear of the chief Pharisees watching Christ. They had eyes for that. They watched him to find something against him. But they themselves were hypocrites and perverters of the law and they didn't know. They had no eyes for this. End.
Let us ask God to put our eyes on ourselves and then on Him. May we all be humble when it comes to what we are.
"I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5
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