Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Pride is a hazardous tool of Satan, and we all know the truth of the Word of God that "pride goes before destruction" (Proverbs 16:18).
Satan will use our natural self-disparagement to keep us in a state of discouragement, stop us from using the gifts that God has bestowed upon us, and understand our value in God's eyes. It is sometimes challenging to balance our pride with an understanding of how God values us. Pride removes God from the picture and accredits any contribution to His kingdom to us and not to God, where all the glory belongs. However, we can sustain the correct balance with a heart filled with praise and worship of the one that adopted us into His royal family.
There is another place of off-balance we can find ourselves in if we are not careful. That is in another one of Satan's traps called self-depreciation. We are not to confuse true humility with counterfeit humility. When we undervalue ourselves, we will not be able to reach the goal of God's will for our lives. Furthermore, to despise oneself is to devalue and belittle the gifts given to us by God.
Undue evaluation of oneself no matter what side of the pendulum it swings to is always dangerous and in line with Satan's evil schemes and plans. Notions of grandeur or self-belittlement are opposed to what God sees for His children.
As believers and followers of Christ Jesus, we must never forget where our gifts come from, not from ourselves but Almighty God. We should also remember that giftedness does not equate to spiritual maturity. Our blessings come from God and God alone; on the other hand, our spiritual maturity comes from God and our daily growth plan. How committed we are to a consecrated prayer life, personal and cooperative bible study, and service to God and others will determine the progress of our sanctification process, our spiritual growth.
God distributes faith to each of His children. Some see this verse as God allocates more faith to some and less to others; however, this is not what this verse is saying. The question is not how strong our faith is but where we place our trust. If we put all our faith in Christ Jesus, as our Lord and Savior, we will know all the peace of God that Jesus desires for us. On the other hand, if we redistribute some of our faith in ourselves or some form of works salvation (baptism, service), we will not have a full measure of the peace that God intended for all His children. God gives us the gifts, abilities, and experiences that shape who we are; we have only to pray for empowerment to His glory. To maintain the proper balance between pride and self-degradation, keep in mind that all the honor and glory for all things go to God.
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