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By
Jim
Mathis
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•
May
26,
2025
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Recently
as
I
was
watching
an
interview
with
comedian
and
legendary
talk
show
host
Jay
Leno,
he
commented
about
being
a
big
believer
in
low
self-esteem.
He
explained
his
perspective
that
if
he
begins
to
think
he
knows
more
than
the
next
person,
he
is
in
trouble.
Leno
also
observed
that
if
we
start
to
believe
we
know
everything,
that
means
we
have
decided
to
stop
learning.
When
Leno
was
hosting
“The
Tonight
Show,”
for
example,
he
would
never
try
to
tell
the
lighting
people
or
sound
people
how
to
do
their
job,
something
he
had
seen
some
TV
hosts
attempt
to
do.
He
reasoned
that
if
a
person
was
a
lighting
director
for
a
major
network
TV
show,
they
were
the
best
at
their
job.
It
would
be
foolish
to
try
telling
them
how
to
position
the
lights.
As
business
leaders,
community
leaders
or
political
leaders,
our
job
is
to
find
the
best
people
for
each
role
and
then
listen
to
them.
As
soon
as
we
start
thinking
that
we
are
the
smartest
person
in
the
room,
we
are
inviting
disaster.
In
the
Bible,
Proverbs
16:18
says, “Pride
goes
before
destruction,
a
haughty
spirit
before
a
fall.” In
other
words,
pride
always
foretells
destruction.
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Proverbs
11:2
says, “When
pride
comes,
then
comes
disgrace,
but
with
humility
comes
wisdom.” It
does
not
get
much
clearer
than
that.
Pride
–
or
boasting
about
ourselves
or
our
accomplishments
–
never
ends
well.
This
is
a
consistent
theme
throughout
the
Bible,
as
well
as
in
secular
wisdom
throughout
the
ages.
When
we
hear
somebody
bragging
about
how
smart
they
are,
boasting
about
how
much
they
know,
it
should
always
be
a
signal
to
take
caution.
In
reality,
they
might
be
just
talking
to
themselves
trying
to
overcome
their
fear
and
insecurities
about
their
own
shortcomings.
But
some
people
counter
with,
“Shouldn’t
we
be
proud
of
our
work,
our
kids,
or
our
favorite
team?”
Bestowing
praise
and
showing
pride
about
the
accomplishments
of
others
is
not
the
same
as
taking
credit
that
others
deserve,
or
assuming
we
were
the
only
ones
responsible
for
any
success
that
is
achieved.
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To
be
successful
at
whatever
we
do,
we
must
be
continual
learners.
The
faster
the
world
changes,
the
better
students
we
need
to
be.
Pride,
however,
often
prevents
us
from
learning.
Because
learning
requires
that
we
put
ourselves
in
a
place
where
someone
else
is
the
master
teacher
or
mentor.
We
must
admit
there
are
things
we
do
not
know
or
are
not
skilled
at
doing.
As
Proverbs
13:10
tells
us, “Pride
only
breeds
quarrels,
but
wisdom
is
found
in
those
who
take
advice.” We
can
always
find
people
who
are
smarter,
more
skilled,
or
simply
better
at
doing
certain
things
than
we
are.
Having
been
an
entrepreneur,
self-employed
person
and
sometimes
freelance
worker,
I
have
discovered
we
need
to
spend
half
of
our
time
learning
and
improving
our
skills.
If
we
have
only
six
hours
to
chop
down
a
tree,
three
of
those
hours
are
best
used
sharpening
the
ax
–
learning
to
improve
ourselves.
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As
Ecclesiastes
10;10
in
the
Bible’s
Old
Testament
states, “If
the
ax
is
dull
and
he
does
not
sharpen
its
edge,
then
he
must
exert
more
strength.
Wisdom
has
the
advantage
of
bringing
success.” Spending
time
bragging
about
how
skilled
we
are
with
that
ax
is
just
not
going
to
cut
it
–
both
literally
and
figuratively.
©
2025. Jim
Mathis
is
a
writer,
photographer,
musician
and
small
business
owner
in
Overland
Park,
Kansas.
His
latest
book
is The
Camel
and
the
Needle,
A
Christian
Looks
at
Wealth
and
Money. He
formerly
was
a
coffee
shop
manager,
as
well
as
executive
director
of
CBMC
in
Kansas
City,
U.S.A.
Reflection/Discussion
Questions
-
Have
you
ever
worked
with
–
or
for
–
someone
who
seemed
to
know
better
than
anyone
else
about
practically
everything?
If
so,
what
is
it
like
to
work
with
an
individual
like
that? -
What
do
you
think
about
Jay
Leno’s
suggestion
that
having
“low
self-esteem”
is
a
good
thing,
meaning
being
able
to
realize
that
others
might
be
better
at
doing
some
things
than
we
are? -
Do
you
consider
yourself
to
be
a
continual
learner,
a
person
who
is
eager
to
discover
new
insights
and
understanding
about
many
things
–
recognizing
you
do
not
‘know
it
all’? -
How
do
you
respond
to
people
who
demonstrate
genuine
humility,
who
seem
to
put
others
ahead
of
themselves
and
recognize
the
value
and
contributions
of
people
they
work
with?
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NOTE:
If
you
have
a
Bible
and
would
like
to
read
more,
consider
the
following
passages:
Proverbs
15;33,
16:5,
18:12,
21:4,
21:24,
22:4;
Philippians
2:3-4;
Romans
12;10;
James
4:6
Challenge
for
This
Week
The
Bible
declares
that
“money
is
a
root
of
many
kinds
of
evil”
(1
Timothy
6:10),
but
some
theologians
have
suggested
that
pride
ultimately
is
the
basis
for
every
sin,
including
the
love
of
money.
Because
pride
causes
people
to
desire
more
and
more.
Is
pride
an
issue
for
you?
It
can
manifest
itself
in
many
forms,
including
insisting
that
we
know
best
about
virtually
everything.
It
also
can
involve
selfishness,
self-promotion,
self-centeredness,
and
many
other
ways
of
exalting
self.
If
you
find
yourself
wrestling
with
pride
–
and
most
of
us
do,
to
some
extent
–
find
someone
to
talk
with
about
this,
even
being
willing
to
accept
their
advice
and
their
prayers.