Are you standing on your own?

 This week's verses are 1 Corinthians 10:12-13:

So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall. No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. 

These verses follow those of the previous two weeks. Paul is still addressing our tendency to assume our spiritual condition is fine and become complacent. So he sums it up again: "Let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall."

"The one who thinks he is standing." That implies that maybe things are not entirely as they seem. When we are doing well, we assume we are standing on our own. We've made decisions that improved our goodness, or we've mustered a superior amount of willpower compared to those who have fallen. The grace of God doesn't enter into our  thoughts. In the final credits of the self-congratulatory film that is playing in our minds, the Holy Spirit does not even get a mention at the end.

But Paul clarifies what is really happening. "God is faithful. He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it." In other words, God has dumbed down your test to a level that even you could pass it. The truth in that is pretty humbling.

Our success is not nothing, but it's not something that we can take full credit for either. God has rigged the system. If we are faithful, he is more faithful. If we can take some credit, the lion's share still goes to him. His grace is behind all our success.

A good example of this is people ignoring the dangers of drugs and falling into a pattern of abuse. People overestimate their ability to navigate temptation. They tell themselves "I'm not a loser like those guys I see begging in the train station. It's fine if I try it. I'm not like them. I can handle it because I'm a better person." Six months later they've robbed their own grandmother to get another hit. We are all losers like "that guy," and we vastly overestimate our ability to do the right thing.

That's why Paul warns us: "Let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall."  When we overestimate ourselves, or when we ignore the role of God's grace in our good position in life, we are putting ourselves in the place of God. We are saying "I did this on my own. Cast your eyes upon me." We are filled with the pride that comes before a fall.

The truth is that we are not standing on our own. We are able to stand because God has propped us up. The thing that keeps us from falling is not our own strength but the fact that we are leaning on him. The moment we push him away and try to walk on our own is when we fall.

Lean on God in humility.  Realize that you are not alone. If you can stand upright, it is because of God's mercy on you. It is only because of him that you are able to keep from falling.