Hot Air Balloons
“and you have become arrogant, and have not mourned instead” 1 Corinthians 5:2
Arrogant – We have no trouble identifying arrogance. That overblown pride, that sense of superiority, that inflated ego. We recognize it immediately – in others. But just as Proverbs says that the fool seems right in his own eyes, we have an amazing ability to be blind to our own arrogance. We don’t see the pride, the self-inflation and the superior attitude hidden in our own words and actions. We wear the “there’s nothing wrong with me” mask. We’re like the greeting card that says, “I used to make mistakes, but I got over that. Now I’m perfect.”
The Greek word physioo comes from the imagery of the blacksmith. The bellows used to keep the fire hot blows air into the coals each time it is inflated. That’s arrogance. Full of hot air, blowing it out at every opportunity. But that’s not all the imagery Paul packs into this word. This particular form of the verb means that it is action in the past with continuing consequences for the present and it is especially personal. It’s not just ego on display. It is continuing self-involved ego. I just know that I’m better than you and my words and deeds constantly make a point of it.
What’s the solution to this blindness? Paul has an answer. Where inflation begins to get hold, the correct response is mourning. You don’t need a session with the psychologist. You don’t need to read another self-improvement book. You don’t even need a sharp rebuke. You need to go to a funeral – your funeral. You need to die and be buried. There is no “this world” correction for arrogance. The only solution is to leave this world behind, along with its preoccupation with image. Paul uses a term that belongs in the graveyard (pentheo). You can find it in Matthew 5:4 and 2 Corinthians 12:21. It is the verb for grieving and intense emotional agony over someone who has died. Paul says, “Don’t keep blowing hot air on the coals. Throw water on that fire and let it die.”
Why is mourning the solution for arrogance? Because mourning takes us toward God. At death, we see the truth about ourselves. We are all the same. We will all come to the same end. The only difference between you and me is God’s grace, nothing more. What can I take pride in when I am reduced to the same plot of ground as all other human beings? What matters in my vain quest for ego inflation when the dirt covers me? Without God’s grace, I am just as lost, just as lonely, just as guilty.
Arrogance is a mask, blinding me from the truth of my existence. Death will peel that mask away. I can wait for the grave or I can mourn my death now and let God reveal that we are all the same under the skin.
