Magdy Samuel

Chapter 4: 5
The negative effects of conceit (3)

    
Third: Rebellion and escape

Then Sarah mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her”.
We do not know what kind of mistreatment that Sarah has done to Hagar; maybe she has reminded her of being a maidservant or maybe she let her back to serve in the tent again. Most probably Hagar did not accept any of that, so she fled.

As a result of despise of others to us, we become unable to go through certain relations, and also unable to tolerate some circumstances, so we rebel and escape.

A wife who used to loves her husband and obeys him with the fear of God, may start complaining of what she used to accept earlier. That happens when the heart and the mind do change because of her pride and conceit. This occurs when she starts focusing on his limited capabilities and on the weak point of his personality.  This takes place in spite of the fact that in their early relationship, she admired him with his limited abilities. In addition because of her pride and her feeling of superiority, she may start thinking of separation or divorce.

Also a husband, who used to love his wife and protect his house and care for his family, may start disregarding and neglecting the marital pledge he took before God. Because of the honor he got of his success and his continuous achievements, his heart diverts from the right track and accordingly he refuses to carry out any of the family responsibilities.  The responsibilities which he used to carry out in the past with pleasure are now burden on him.  Thus he leaves his family and his children and prefers to be free irresponsible man rather than being a committed responsible husband and father.
The children also when becoming teenagers they start to oppose their parents’ advices, and they may consider such advises interference in their personal affairs. Hence they may decide to rebel on the family’s authority and rules the ones they have respected earlier.

This could be observed also in the churchly and spiritual matters. One may leave his own church and goes to another if he faces any problem.   When the church passes through a period of spiritual weakness and tediousness or faces some divisions or financial difficulties, some members may prefer to abandon and flee rather than wait and humble before God to solve the problem.
Dear reader: When God gives us and raises our position in life, may He, at the same time, give us the spirit of obedience and submission so that we remain surrendered to Him and to each other in the fear of His Name.

Fourth: Missing privileges

She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba …she began to sob.” (Genesis 21:14, 16)
Because of her conceit and pride, Hagar was deprived of many things. She hastily climbed the ladder of success and reached to be Abraham’s wife and the mother of the crown and heir, and she also was deprived hastily of that glory, for she ran away from Sarah’s face and left Abraham’s tent and gone astray in the desert without food or drink.

Certainly, Hagar repented for what she did and regretted for her conceit and pride which has put her back to where she started. For God found her besides the road to Shur returning back to Egypt .She did not only return to where she started, moreover she became an astray fugitive maidservant. This was not everything, but the big loss was that she was out of Abraham’s house for ever.
Conceit, pride and intransigence may cause us to lose the greatest privileges that God provides us with .We may lose our marital happiness because of pride that makes us inflexible and stubborn with our opinion and cannot forgive each other.

We could also lose our success at work due to our pride. It prevents us from admitting and correcting our mistakes, and thus we could make decisions that might cost us a lot.

We may lose our spiritual ministry due to our pride. Because of what we have from talents and spiritual knowledge we may feel superior over others. And at this point we lose God’s blessing to our service.

We may also lose our successful relationships, because of pride which can hold us self-centered, unable to sacrifice for others, minimize others’ talents and even disrespect others.

Therefore, when we flaunt and become filled up with pride, we lose what we possess while when we are humble and modest, God gives us more. May God protect us from this serious hidden disease and keep our hearts humiliated, so that we enjoy His blessings in our life, and we live happily within his grace which he promised to give to the humble. “But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We also experience his divine comforts. "God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us” (2 Corinthians 7:6)

Magdy Samuel