 Let's look at Haman, the person the Persian king most honored (Esther 3:1-6, 6:1-10).
The exiled Jews seemed to do well in Persia (Esther 6:13). When the king of Persia required everyone to kneel and honor him, and when Mordecai, a Jew, didn’t comply, Haman planned to use this as an opportunity to kill all the Jews in Persia. Previously, Mordecai had warned the king of an assassination attempt. Having been reminded of Mordecai’s loyalty, the king decided to reward him and asked Haman how to do so. Believing himself to be the recipient, Haman suggested something extravagant, and the king commanded Haman to personally deliver the reward to Mordecai. That gave Haman a lot of grief and began his downfall, ultimately leading to his death. An arrogant person is only concerned with himself. Everything is about him. This person always considers himself to be right. Since he thinks he makes no mistakes, he can’t learn from his own failure or others’ criticism, which leads to more serious blunders. This person tends to hold grudges. He assumes he would never commit the wrongs that others do, and so he is less inclined to forgive. The humble will be exalted, while the arrogant who always tries to lift himself higher will be humiliated (Matthew 23:12). So how can we rid ourselves of arrogance, particularly when it is so difficult for a person to recognize his own shortcomings? First, we must admit that we tend to be self-centered and arrogant. Remember that the conceited rarely think themselves as such. Second, know that we are sinful and corrupted. There is nothing in us that we should be proud of. On the other hand, we should not feel inferior and needy because through Christ, we have God’s recognition and glory, the glory Christ received from God the Father (John 17:22)! To conclude, know that we are filled with defects, yet because of Christ, we have God’s glory and praises. Though we are confident and proud of our status, there is nothing we should be arrogant about. So, we should focus less on ourselves and more on others. Summary of a sermon by Tim Keller https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-man-the-king-delights-to-honor-5529/ 您认识一个傲慢的人吗？ 让我们一起来看看以斯帖记3：1-6和6：1-10中波斯国王最尊荣的人, 哈曼。 当时被流放在波斯的犹太人似乎做得不错 (以斯帖记6:13)。波斯国王要求所有人跪下向他敬拜时，有一位名叫末底改的犹太人不听从，哈曼想藉此机会杀死波斯国中所有的犹太人。 此前末底改曾警告国王有暗杀他的阴谋。一天夜晚有人提醒国王末底改的忠心，国王就决定奖励末底改，并询问哈曼该如何行。哈曼自以为国王说要奖励的人是他，便提出一些奢侈的建议。国王接纳了哈曼的建议,还命令他亲自将奖赏送给末底改。这使哈曼感到难受万分, 也成为他垮台的开始，最终导致他的灭亡。 傲慢的人具有某些特征。这样的人只关心自己，一切都要与他有关，他需要成为一切事物的中心。 这样的人总自以为是，认为自己没有错误，无法从自己的失败或他人的批评中吸取教训，进而导致更严重的失误。 这样的人往往会怀恨在心，认为不会犯与其他人一样的错误，使他更难原谅犯下这些错误的人。 “凡自高的必降为卑，自卑的必升为高 (马太福音23:12)。” 如何摆脱骄傲自满呢，特别是当一个人很难识别自己有这个缺点时？ 首先，承认我们有自我中心和自大的倾向。请记住，自负的人很少有这样的自我认知。 其次，知道人都是有罪和败坏的，我们里面没任何值得骄傲之处。另一方面，不应感到自卑和贫穷，因为籍着基督我们得到上帝的认可和荣耀,就是基督从父神那里得到的荣耀（约翰福音17:22）！ 总而言之，当知道我们每个人都充满缺陷，但因着基督得到上帝的荣耀和赞美。尽管我们可以为自己的地位充满信心和自豪，但不应自高自大。应对自己少些关注，而更多地关心他人。
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