Are You Arrogant, Confident, or Full of Faith

Today's Scripture References: Judges 6&7 Hebrews 11

Christ said much could be done with faith as small as a mustard seed.

Can you tell the difference between faith, confidence, and arrogance? The three may look similarly to the eyes of the outside observer, but they are so different in the heart of a leader. However, a few distinctions can help you determine which of the three applies to your character.

Faith

Reflect for a moment on Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (NIV). Faith is futuristic. It is means you have a “hope” and “certainty” about something. We cannot prove that we have faith because it is not something to be seen, touched, and easily diagnosed. But it certainly does impact our conversation and how we make decisions. Most importantly, others can identify when we have it and when we don’t.

Confidence

When we have confidence, we can usually trace it to something that happened in the past. Thus, confidence is easier than faith to “prove.” Not only can we see it, but confidence is something you can justify having because it comes from an act or event that can provide the proof.

Arrogance

My definition of arrogance is having “an overbearing and pretentious confidence.” Unlike faith and confidence, it communicates superiority.

 Using Faith & Confidence; Guarding Against Arrogance

 Now that you know what each of these terms mean and how they “look,” I challenge you to reflect and determine which term your followers see in you? Which word best describes you?

 Some time ago, a pastor and I were taking a walk, discussing the many issues impacting relationships in our church. During the walk I was sharing my perspective on a certain point, when the pastor asked me, “Ron, might it be a bit arrogant of you to say that?”

We must reflect carefully about whether our actions appear
arrogant to others.

 I can say I was quite stunned, to say the least. While the pastor who said this may not have used word the way he wanted to, I certainly knew that the true meaning of this term wasn’t flattering.

We finished our walk, and the discussion went well. However I went home that day with a heavy heart. That night in my quiet time, I searched my mind and every crevasse of my will and brain to see if I could find an arrogant piece of me, asking God to reveal it to me. At the end of a time of self-examination, I found myself clear of any conviction of the Holy Spirit in this area of my life.

 However, as I reflected on my life in an attempt to see why the pastor had thought my statement arrogant, it soon became apparent to me that I had acquired a high degree of confidence throughout my life, and the way I communicated my confidence bordered on the threshold of arrogance. At least, this is what it looked like on the outside. In addition, to this confidence, one of my stronger spiritual gifts is faith. The level of faith that I have is certainly a result of what God has done with me in the past. I don’t doubt His distinctive use of me in the past, and as a result, I have a high degree of faith about what the future holds.

 Guarding Against Arrogance

 Even though I don’t believe I was being arrogant, this experience reinforced the fact that I, and those of you like me, need to be careful. We need to be conscious of our audience and guard against our body language and speech becoming truly arrogant. I can’t help think of what Gideon’s soldiers saw in him as God pared their numbers down to 300 fighters. Somehow, I don’t think they followed him simply because Gideon appeared confident as he was telling them about a fleece getting wet and then dry. That does not drive 300 men to face what most would call certain death. No, it was Gideon’s great faith in God that inspired them to believe what he had come to believe—that he and his army of the faithful would prevail! The 300 did not follow him because he was arrogant; they followed him because of his confidence AND because if his faith.

Food for Thought

• Which one do you have the most of—faith, confidence, or arrogance? 
• Which one(s) will we bring to the office tomorrow?

Photos courtesy of Tibchris and Jacob Botter.