When you eat and are full, you will praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.
“Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God by failing to keep His command — the ordinances and statutes — I am giving you today.
When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in,
and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases,
be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty land where there was no water. He brought water out of the flint-like rock for you.
He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper.
You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’
but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.
The Lord hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to Him:
arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil,
a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.
When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice.
The lamp that guides the wicked — haughty eyes and an arrogant heart — is sin.
A person’s pride will humble him, but a humble spirit will gain honor.
This is what the Lord says: The wise man must not boast in his wisdom; the strong man must not boast in his strength; the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken from him.
“The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth.
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward!
But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ”
Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them.
“I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else:
“Two men went up to the temple complex to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: ‘God, I thank You that I’m not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, turn Your wrath from me — a sinner! ’
I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other; because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?
But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
“I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.
They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”
They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or Me.