“Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!'” ~ II Kings 1:11
REFERENCE:
We established that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it. The three captains of fifty sent to arrest Elijah vividly teach us this truth. Yesterday we saw how the ignorance of the first captain led to his death. His approach to life was rooted in ignorance. Enter the second captain of fifty; his response to life is rooted in arrogance. Quite nauseating!
The audacity of this second captain baffles me. He must have heard what happened to the first captain and his men and probably saw their dead bodies, yet spoke arrogantly to Elijah. He added ‘quickly’ to the king’s instruction, “…Come down quickly.” He must have thought, ‘I’m better than the last captain; I will arrest this prophet.’ Arrogance tells you that you will succeed where your predecessors failed without a commitment to do things differently or better than them.
Arrogance is excessive pride or self-importance. It is having an exaggerated opinion about one’s abilities. Many people go around with a chip on their shoulders, thinking they know it all, and are smarter, better, or more skilled than others. So, they are careless, impulsive, and reckless; they will not study as students (because they believe they are gifted) and often get into trouble.
Arrogance will cloud your judgment and decision-making. If you are overconfident, you tend to miss important details and fall into error. It will not let you empathize with others or feel their pain. You will find it difficult to learn from others or receive feedback. Hence, you miss your opportunity to learn, grow, and improve. The captain was overconfident and missed the lessons he should have learned from the slain captain. He perhaps ignored pointers from his men.
Arrogance is why some men do not listen to their wives or read owners’ manuals (I’m guilty of this), so we struggle with a product or even spoil it. Arrogance will cost you more than you are willing to pay. You will lose relationships and money and be blind to growth opportunities.
Be humble, get feedback, and learn to know your limits. It will help you to develop a healthier and more constructive response to life. Scripture says a fool is better than the arrogant.
PHOTO QUOTE
Additional texts:
Proverbs 26:12, Proverbs 21:23-24, and I Peter 5:5
PRAYER:
+ Lord, I put aside every bloated opinion about myself – my abilities, wisdom, skills, and beauty. I humble myself before You that You might lift me. May I not be a victim of arrogance as I respond to life. Help me to be observant, learn, get feedback, and be empathetic, in Jesus’ name.
