A Crutch

How many times have you heard that Jesus is just a crutch?  People say this because they think that Christians are weak, scared and feeble people who can’t get through life without something to hold them up.  These people think that they have it altogether, and part of what they say is true.

Every person alive needs Jesus and compared to Him we are all weak, feeble and scared to some degree, but many people are blind to that fact. Many people are so filled with pride that they think they need no one but themselves.  That is why God hates pride and will not tolerate it in a Christian’s life.  The Bible says this about pride in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Prideful people take lightly their weaknesses, thinking they are above the common frailties of ordinary people so they are tripped up easily and are unaware that the pride they walk in is the cause.  I have heard it said, “Pride stinks and the only one that doesn’t smell it is the one that has it,” or something close to that.  

Pride is probably one of the most effective tools that the evil one uses making people think they are better than everyone else and that they can do whatever they put their minds to, thinking they have need of only themselves to accomplish their tasks, having it all together, like I said earlier.  The reality is that we have all been prideful but believers have been set free of that sin if they have repented, praise the Lord.

I feel that the Lord has just brought a verse to my mind and it is this, in Matthew 18:2-4, “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”  Little children are not prideful nor do they know what that word means, they are, for the most part, humble unless they are taught otherwise.  In our day children learn far quicker the things that steal their innocence than the children in Jesus’ day, which is a crying shame.  

If you are a believer and the sin of pride has not been overcome in your life you need to deal with it and eradicate it from your life.  Read these scriptures, be encouraged and then act on them.  These are taken from James 4:6-10, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”   

Remember this, Christians are not weak, no, they are strong in the Lord, but non-believers mistake meekness for weakness because they are blinded to the truth.  Needing Jesus, whether someone calls it a crutch or whatever, is a sign of being humble.  So don’t let it bother you if you hear that statement said about you; just rejoice that the Lord was willing to humble you and that He got your attention and you received Him as the Lord and Savior of your life and that your name is written in the Book of Life.  Don’t forget to pray for anyone that says such a thing and for all the un-believers.  God bless you and yours and have a super day!!