@ Etude- Arrogance

UV 3281/10000 @ Etude- Arrogance

He went in to the bed of Hagar and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress ( regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility.

Genesis 16 v 4


The servant maid Hagar had come one up on her mistress Sarai as she conceived a child. She looked down upon the barrenness of Sarai and it reflected in her behaviour towards her. She despised Sarai on account of the latter’s barrenness. This is what also happens to us. We are given one blessing or gift and we become proud and arrogant on account of it. We look down upon others not knowing that the Lord in His mercy had given us that blessing or gift. St Paul advices us not to think of ourselves as superior to anyone else but consider what aspect others are better than us and learn from it.

Hagar’s attitude led to her being ill treated by Sarai. She ran away from the home of Abraham and Sarai but the Lord counselled her to return and submit to the authority of her mistress Sarai. Most of the issues in our relationships with others, the frictions and conflicts are due to our attitudes. We need to fine tune it in consonance with the Word of God. We need to humble ourselves before God and our fellow man. This will enable us to find favour or grace. Whatever special gift or blessing we should look upon not as our claim to superiority but as a grace received for which we need to be ever thankful to the Lord.


Our significance or importance is not derived from whom we are, what we have, what we have done or can do, what position we hold but it is derived from Whom we know as our Creator, Redeemer and Benefactor. We do not boast about our wisdom or our riches but that we know the Lord, our God. Our yard stick to determine our worth is not that of our our fellow humans but it is the Lord and His word. We have to measure ourselves against the standards of the Lord described in the Word and finding ourselves short, we ask the Lord for mercy first, and then, to fill the gaps with His grace and glory.