Conciet in the Chicken Pen

Galatians 6:3-4

Have you every watched a rooster in a chicken pen, he has an attitude and from that attitude comes the phrase, “Cock of the Walk”.  He comes across as the most important thing on this earth, but he is just a chicken with longer tail feathers and one part the hen needs to make her eggs fertile.  It is a fact that the rooster’s importance hinges on his owners desire for baby chicks, and another rooster can easily replace him.

Have you ever acted like you were the “Cock of the Walk”?  It has been my experience that often very insecure folks come across with such an attitude, the third verse states, “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”  My dear friend Bob Keese often said of himself, “I never have to worry about being a has been, I’m a never was.”  If you spent time with Bob, you knew he was gifted with many talents and he not only was my barber for 28 years, he also was the man who God used to introduce me to Christ, and he has a very special place in my heart.

When I was in Junior High School one of my nicknames was little prince, not because I was of royal birth, but I had a need to be the leader.  I was one of those very insecure people who came across with the attitude of being someone important.  The only problem with that attitude is you; you know it is not true or you are deceiving yourself, and maybe a little of both.

The apostle Paul is referring to our brothers and sisters in Christ; is he not saying that they are conceited, and does that have any place in the family of God, in the bride of Christ, the Church?  The Bible has a lot of ink on conceit, in Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.”   The prophet Isaiah had this to say, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” (Isaiah 5:21) 

We are told in Scripture to examine ourselves, we are never told to think highly of self, therefore we have this warning; “The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.” (1 Corinthians 8:2)  Watch-out for anyone who has all the answers about God, the person who can tell you precisely what to do at any given time or circumstance.  God is not like us, He is higher than us, and no matter what box you try to place Him in; it is never going to work.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice