Sermonette: Self-Confidence
#1740s
James C. Stoertz
Given 23-Dec-23; 15 minutes
description: This world in general, but the business world in particular, touts self-confidence as a key indicator of capability and success, even if one has to "fake it" until he makes it. Business leaders, politicians, athletes, and entertainers all love to pour on the unctuous self-adulation, even though Solomon warns that everyone proud in heart [or self-confident] is an abomination to the Lord. Paradoxically, though God hates self-confidence, there are examples in which He uses confident people, such as David, who rejected trust in human leaders or value systems, but had intense faith in Almighty God. In contrast to David, Saul demonstrated a litany of self-willed activity, disqualifying himself from his anointing as king and leading to his suicide. Self-confidence leads people to over-estimate their own abilities, promoting arrogance, pride, and hubris—all destructive to godly character. Tucker Carlson, reflecting on his recent dismissal from Fox News, declared "Men need to be humiliated regularly to keep their souls pure." Saul the Zealot became Paul, the humble but confident apostle, dependent solely on God's infinite strength. Both David and Paul learned to trust in the Lord, not leaning on their own understanding. Our Lord and Savior modeled this during his trial and interrogation before Pilate, in which he refused to be a self-promoter, but demonstrated there is a time to be bold and a time to keep silent.