Chapter 4: 4
The negative effects of conceit (2)

Second: Despise others
 “When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.”

Hagar was not proud of herself only but she has despised her mistress Sarah and looked at her with superiority. Sarah did not change but it was Hagar who did. That happened when Hagar’s circumstances got changed, she shifted her look and her heart on others and started to despise those who do not own what she does and feel they are inferior to her.

Although Sarah was the source of blessing to Hagar’s life and without Sarah,Hagar would never achieve that much of success, Hagar was not only ungrateful to Sarah but she despised her. 

That what happens sometimes to us when God heaps upon us and we grow large, we feel others inferior to us.

This applies to someone who used to love his wife and has chosen her with all his heart; and she was pretty and precious to him; but when The Lord gives him abundantly and becomes  successful in his life having a nice income and a respectful career, while at the same time, his wife did not achieve any of that, she becomes disdained in his eyes and he becomes no longer excited about her or respectful as in the past.  This could occur despite the fact that she must have sacrificed a lot to motivate him to succeed in his education or in his career, and stay home taking care of the children.

On the other hand,  the same applies on the wife  who finds herself in a better position at work than her husband or when she overcomes the challenges of life becoming self dependant, having her own high income, independent from her husband, driving her own car, she then changes her impression about her husband. This also occurs in spite of the fact that before she loved him and respected him and admired his thoughts and views and was proud of him considering him the head of the house and the family. But because of the ecstasy of achievements and the bliss of success she attained, she finds her husband inferior to her and starts treating him without love or respect. She also might admire another person and gets affiliated to him emotionally. Such events may induce her and lead her to ask for separation or divorce.

Same feelings might seep into the children as well. In their early years, they love their parents and respect them admiring their views and opinions but when things change and they are well-taught  earning higher income , they feel they are superior and do not need to show the appropriate respect and obedience like before.

That could happen to our attitude towards our families and relatives. We used to love them and were missing them and anxious to hear from them but after time passes and God gives us richly, our look starts deviating and our hearts turn aside. Our look to them becomes a despising and pathetic one. We do not treat them as we did before and it could reach to a point where we feel superior neglecting even their visits and become uninterested in their news.

This could affect our spiritual behaviors as well. Earlier, we used to loved God and his Word and   rush in going to the meetings, we miss the spiritual conventions and attend them, we loved to serve the Lord and were committed, we were accustomed to do the simplest services with love and Joy, our spiritual attitude was attractive and of importance to our life. However, after the big achievements, we find out that the spiritual matters are no longer interesting to us and we do not like to spend any time on them as our views and hearts got changed

How great was David when his wife, despised him in her heart because he was leaping and dancing and singing before the Lord, after the big success he achieved  becoming a king , as if, she wanted to tell him that he should do this when he was a poor shepherd  or a simple warrior but now  he is  King David of Israel , the highest rank. But David’s answer to her was:
"It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD.  I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.”(2 Samuel 6:21, 22)
 
Dear reader: when God gives the true believer, he should augment in humiliation in his own eyes and grow in modesty when dealing with others. He does not bloat in himself or despise others.

May the Lord leads us to learn from him the spirit of humility and modesty as he recommended: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29)

Magdy Samuel