“Less Than the Least”

In one more look at Paul’s view of “self” in Ephesians 3:8—Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints—I am reminded often how man is always seeking glory. But while seeking glory is a natural trait in us all, it is not a spiritual one. It never ceases to amaze me every day how plain Bible principles and obvious Bible verses are simply ignored. What the Bible says is just simply disregarded, even by Christians and Christian leaders. We give lip service to the Bible, but disregard what It says. Totally ignored, for example, is the clear fact that in the 49 occurrences of the word “pride” and in the 48 occurrences of the word “proud” in Scripture (KJV), not a single one is used in a positive way. Never is pride tolerated, much less praised, as it is today. In spite of that some Christians leaders teach “positive pride” doctrine, and other teachers speak of building up self, but they are wrong—it is as simple as that. They are teaching a philosophy that is the very opposite of what God says. And what does that make them? FALSE TEACHERS. The clear conclusion of Scripture is that “God resisteth the proud” (Jas. 4:6), even if that pride is a supposed “positive pride.” Likewise, does Psalm 16:18 say,  “Pride goeth before exaltation?” No, it says, “Pride goeth before destruction?”

We should also observe that of the 402 occurrences of the word “glory” (KJV), the only acceptable usage is when glory is directed toward God, never to man. As Paul told the arrogant, self-centered, self-sufficient Corinthians, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (I Cor. 1:31) and “let no man glory in men” (3:21). Why? Because we “have nothing to glory of” (9:16). And why is that? As he asked earlier in that letter, “What hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (4:7).

Now, in spite of all that simple, basic, plain Bible Truth, Christians are nevertheless more and more drawn into pride and self-glory, whether it’s in their jobs, in the virtual god of “sports,” or even Church ministry.

I admit to a love of good movies, and one of my all-time favorites is Patton, in which actor George C. Scott plays the enigmatic General George Smith Patton (about whom I’ve also read three biographies). At the end of the movie, just before the closing credits roll, you see Patton walking alone in the countryside and hear a voice-over of the General recounting the glory of ancient soldiers that he so admired. Those words hit me so hard every time I hear them that I committed them to memory:

For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters, musicians, and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. “The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.

Those words truly capture Patton. After his Third Army’s dramatic breakout from Normandy, its headlong armored advance across France, its glorious relieving of besieged Bastogne during The Battle of the Bulge, and finally its key role in the thrust across the Rhine and into the heart of Germany, did Patton die in a blaze of glory on the battlefield as his lead tank exploded upon being hit by a German 88-millimeter round? No. After V-E Day (May 8, 1945), he was relegated to a desk job in Germany, a general of a paper army consisting of a few researchers and clerks.  A few months later his neck was broken in a minor traffic accident; now a quadriplegic, the great George Patton died a few days later.

As Jeremiah so wonderfully declares: “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jer. 9:23-24).

Let us all say with humble Paul, “I am the leaster.”