Freedom from comparison produces humility

Paul writes vigorously before these two verses to persuade the Galatians to disown the teachers of the Law that have been diverting their attention away from Paul’s core teachings. Instead of a life of freedom in the Spirit as Paul taught, the Law teachers were focusing the Galatians' attention on obedience to the Law apart from faith. At his crescendo, after he expresses the wish that these teachers would chop their privates off, he tempers his call to freedom with a caution to use their freedom for its intended use, unfettered love and service, and not an opportunity to abandon themselves to the flesh. He mirrors the free life of the Spirit with the worthless life of the flesh and urges the Galatians to remain in the freedom of life given over to the Spirit’s guidance.

What intrigues me about this passage over other decisive passages about humility is the incompatibility of the life of the Spirit to the life of pride. Here Paul infers that a person alive by the Spirit but who walks out of step with the Spirit will find their path leads to conceit, provocation and envy, while a life lived in lockstep freedom with the Spirit leads to humility, agreement and honor. This agrees with many other passages that describe the result of humility and the result of pride, but Paul also explains the source of humility: the exercise of love in the Spirit.

The fruit of my past week stinks of pride, self-sufficiency and envy. This is not the life of freedom I was made for and shows that my flesh, not the Spirit, has been the primary actor this week. Even before reading these passages, the Spirit has been highlighting ways I’ve been too proud to ask for help and too concerned about my reputation to give other’s the space to learn and grow. What a joy to be led by the humble Spirit, who offers the yoke of freedom in daily reliance on His love-centered influence instead of the crushing weight of legal regulations that have no power to produce what they demand. May pride be swiftly uprooted in my heart before it sprouts the fruit of needless conflict and the love-shrinking malady of comparison.