阅读经文 

虽然我徒步时用了登山杖，但还是摔倒了好几次。当我穿过弗吉尼亚州北部阿巴拉契亚山道的斯隆溪时，我又摔倒了。因为背包沉重的缘故，我颇为费力地爬起来。我在想，“走过这么多路，趟过这么多河水，我是不是有点粗心大意了？”毕竟，《箴言》警告说：“骄傲……在跌倒之前。”

骄傲是一个我们每个人毕生都在与之斗争的顽疾。因着骄傲，我们看不到我们在神的计划中真正的位置。《圣经》谴责骄傲是人类悖逆及其致命后果的根源。我们忘记了自己是受造之物，拒绝神对我们生命的计划。我们自以为高人一等，因而看不起别人。

谦卑是骄傲的解药。真正的谦卑意味着看清楚我们与神和祂所造世界的关系；这意味着把神当作神，把我们自己和他人当作祂所爱的受造物。这就是神希望我们与祂同行的方式——以应有的尊严和恩典对待每个人。

我们该如何操练谦卑？我们若跟随耶稣的脚踪，就是谦卑地与神同行。藉着祂的受死，耶稣救赎了我们，把我们领到义路上。祂以自己为榜样带领我们。当我们跟随祂，被祂的灵充满，我们就能在神的世界里行走义路，操练尊重和爱每一个人。

Though I use a walking stick for hiking, I have fallen several times. As I crossed Sloan Creek on the Appalachian Trail in northern Virginia, I fell again, and I struggled to get up because of my backpack. I wondered, “Have the many miles and crossings made me a little careless?” After all, Proverbs warns that “pride goes . . . before a fall.”

Pride is a vision problem that we all struggle with. In our pride, we fail to see our true place in God’s scheme of things. The Bible condemns pride as the very cause of humanity’s rebellion and its deadly consequences. Forgetting that we are creatures, we reject God’s design for our lives. Thinking that we are superior, we nurture contempt for others.

Humility is the antidote to pride. True humility means clearly seeing our place in relation to God and the world he has made; it means treating God as God, and treating ourselves and others as his loved creatures. That’s how God wants us to walk with him—treating everyone with due dignity and grace.

How do we practice humility? We walk humbly with God when we walk with Jesus. By his death, Jesus has redeemed us and set us on the right path. By his example, he leads us. As we follow, filled with his Spirit, we can walk rightly in God’s world, respecting and loving everyone.