Proverbs 29
23 A person’s pride will humble him,
but a humble spirit will gain honour.

Today, many people will easily recognise and remember Mother Theresa. She was the famous Catholic nun from Albania, working in the slums of Calcutta, India. Mother Theresa helped the poor and the sick. She showed the love and compassion of God to countless people who encountered her.

But before Mother Theresa, there was one Amy Carmichael. Perhaps, not many may know or recall Amy’s legacy. Her life and humility is such that she can be easily eclipsed by many other more famous missionaries.
Amy was an Irish, who dedicated her life to missionary work in South India. There she worked tirelessly to rescue children, mired in poverty and societal abuse, until her death in 1951 at the age of 83. 

Make no mistake, Amy was a spiritual giant. She had an indomitable spirit within her, standing up against prejudice to rescue little girls from abuse. At that time, poverty drove many Indian parents to sell their little girls into prostitution. Amy was shocked when she learned about such practices. She immediately decided to rescue these girls.

Often, Amy would walk miles just to rescue one child from abuse. Her hands and feet were used mightily by God to save many little girls. I am convinced that her love for the children was only possible because of her first love for Jesus first. Because of her dedication and commitment to the gospel, Amy remained single her entire life.
Missionary work is tough. Various challenges, bitterness and pain can become major obstacles to overcome. Sometimes loneliness can also overwhelm missionaries in the mission field.

Despite the challenges, Amy remained steadfast. According to her, there is only one way to overcome bitterness.  “There is only one way of victory over the bitterness and rage that comes naturally to us–To will what God wills brings peace.” Amy also says that there is no such thing as “loving too much!”

Reading Proverbs 29:23 reminds me of Amy’s humility and unselfish attitude. Her ministry impacted hundreds of children. When she died in 1951, she was buried without any gravestone, as per her request. She did not seek any recognition for her work.

Looking at Amy’s sacrifice, non-Christians may be tempted to call her a fool. In Latin, the word fool originates from words to describe “windbag” or a “large inflated ball”. It appears that a fool is one who thinks too much of himself or herself.

When we are inflated by our arrogance and ego, we can think too highly of ourselves. The remedy for pride and arrogance is humility. Verse 23 says that “pride will humble us”. This is interesting. It is very reassuring to know that God is immensely resourceful, that he can use even one of the worst human attitudes, pride, to humble us. 

I have learned that the only way to learn humility is to love first and speak less. The less spoken, the better. Bible teaches us to show humility by acting out in love.
Amy was humble right to the end. She was unselfish, loving, controlled her pride and remained humble.  According to her, “One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving”.

This morning, let us consider our ways. Ask God to show the pride in our lives. Confess it before the Lord. Ask God to teach us to remain humble and not to seek self-promotion in any way.  Let us look to John the Baptist, who said: “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Amy Carmichael did not care much for her name and reputation. She was only concerned about the love of God and promoting the message of her Great Saviour, Jesus. Can we do the same?

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times when I have shown arrogance. Please take away the stench of pride in my life. Let me not seek my own will, but only Yours Lord. Let me decrease, so that Jesus may increase in my life. In Jesus’ name I ask. Amen

Prathab V.

每日灵粮
29/05/20
星期五
作者: Prathab V.
箴言29:23

人的骄傲必使他卑微；
心里谦卑的，必得尊荣。

特蕾莎修女如今是个家喻户晓的名字。 她是来自阿尔巴尼亚的着名天主教修女，在印度加尔各答的贫民区工作。 特蕾莎修女帮助穷人和病人。 无数遇到她的人都从她的身上看到上帝的爱和怜悯。

但除了特蕾莎修女，也有一位名叫贾艾梅(Amy Carmichael)的女士。 也许没有多少人认识贾艾梅和她在世时的事工。她的生命与谦卑的心很容易在许多较着名的宣教士名单中被遗忘。

艾梅是爱尔兰人，她一生竭力于南印度的宣教事工。 在那里，她不懈地拯救陷入贫困和受社会虐待的儿童，直到1951年去世，享年83岁。

艾梅无疑是一位属灵的巨人。 她内心有一种不屈不挠的精神，反抗偏见与不公，拯救小女孩免受虐待。 当时，贫困迫使许多印度父母卖女儿，让她们成为妓女。当艾梅得知这样的手法，她很震惊，立即决定拯救这些女孩。

艾梅平常会走好多里路，只为了拯救一个孩子免受虐待。 她的手和脚被上帝用来拯救许多小女孩。 我深信她能这么爱孩子们，是因为她对耶稣起初的爱。 由于艾梅献身忠于福音，她也守独身。

传教工作是艰难的。 各种挑战、苦毒和痛苦都有可能成为需要克服的障碍。 有时孤独也会压倒宣教士。

尽管面临挑战，艾梅仍坚持不懈。对她而言，只有一种方法能克服苦毒。 “只有一种方式能够战胜我们自然产生的痛苦和愤怒，那就是：履行上帝的旨意会带来平安。” 艾梅还说，没有所谓的”爱得太深！”

阅读箴言29:23让我想起艾梅的谦卑和无私。 她的事工影响了数百名儿童。 当艾梅1951年去世时，她要求不要墓碑。 她没有为自己的工作寻求任何认可。

非基督徒可能会认为艾梅是个傻瓜。 在拉丁语中，“傻瓜”起源于一些描述”喋喋不休的人”或”大气球”的词语。 看来，傻瓜就是个自以为是的人。

当我们傲慢和自夸，我们会高估自己。解除骄傲和傲慢的药方就是谦卑。 第23节说，”骄傲必使他卑微”。 这相当有趣。令人宽慰的是，上帝可以用人最糟糕的态度之一，骄傲，使我们学习谦卑。

我了解到，谦卑的唯一方法，就是先爱对方，而且少说话。 说得越少越好。圣经教导我们，谦卑首先要有爱的行动。

艾梅谦卑至死。 她不自私，爱人，控制她的骄傲和保持谦卑。她曾说过，”为别人付出不一定是出于爱，但一个人若爱，就肯定需要付出。“

今早，让我们省思。 求神让我们看见生活中的骄傲。 在上帝面前认罪。 求他教导我们谦卑，不高举自己。 让我们看看施洗约翰，他说：”他必兴旺，我必衰微。”（约翰福音3：30）。

贾艾梅并不在乎成为有名望的人。 她只关注上帝的爱和宣传她伟大救主耶稣的信息。 我们是否也能够如此？

祈祷:
主，求你原谅我的傲慢。 请除去我生命中骄傲的恶臭。 让我只寻求你的旨意。恳求主兴旺，使我衰微。 奉主名祷告， 阿门。

巫惠如译