An Epidemic of Hubris

The following is the sermon transcript from the 15th Sunday after Trinity (Sept. 28, 2025)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Paul is writing against being kenodoxoi, which means being boastful, desirous of vainglory, self-conceited. It’s in line with Titus 1:7, which says that to be kenodoxoi is to be disqualified from the pastoral office. That’s a trait that is not allowed. Augustine would say that pride is the mother of all heresies. And Luther would take it even a step further and say that indeed it’s the source of all sin and ruin.

“Kenodoxoi” means self-conceited, vainglorious. And in case the listener didn’t understand what that was, Paul says: provoking one another, envying one another. As I read those words, the law hit me like a brick—because we do that all the time. We can’t help it. We’re sinners. We live in a sinful world.

The Burden of Social Media

For example, we know that social media is bad for us. We have study after study after study showing that social media increases feelings of loneliness, increases feelings of anger directed at other people, and increases hatred toward others. It increases self-centeredness and selfishness, increases envy, and decreases mental health.

How many people are on social media? We know all that. We don’t care. There’s maybe 2% of people who can use social media and avoid all that. We’re not that 2%. Unequivocally, our society would be better if social media were shut down today. And yet, we lack the will and the desire to do so. We lack the will and the desire to demand that the algorithms change so that they promote goodness and mental health—or to just quit it altogether ourselves.

And we’re not unique. Every society at every level has wrestled with this hubris, this pride, throughout time. In our time and place, Satan is just using social media to do it. Gossip in the past; social media today. Otherwise, Paul wouldn’t be writing against it.

Bearing One Another’s Burdens

So if we shouldn’t be kenodoxoi, what should we be instead? Paul tells us what it means to live by the Spirit, to walk by the Spirit:

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one of us test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not at his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.”

The answer to hubris is humbleness—humility.

An Epidemic of Hubris

There’s been talk in our society that we’re in an epidemic of masculinity. In other words, that we’re lacking masculinity. And into this vacuum has stepped what’s known as the “manosphere,” which is basically just extreme chauvinism: sleep with as many people as you can, live selfishly as much as you can, and that is “winning at life.” That, they say, is true masculinity. That is what it means to be a man. That is what women desire. That is what you should be if you are a man.

And when you talk with people who are actually sane, and you ask them, “Well, what’s it mean to be a man? What’s it mean to be masculine?” a word keeps coming up: humility.

And so I’m starting to wonder if what we’re actually under is not an epidemic of masculinity, but an epidemic of a lack of humility—an epidemic of hubris in our society. We have failed to teach biblical humility, so our young men and boys are turning to online influencers that catechize them in hubris. And our young women, we have failed to teach humility, and so they are looking at all these things that promise a great life but aren’t.

What does God say here for all Christians, men and women? “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

True Masculinity and Femininity

I think we’d all agree that David is a masculine example in the Bible. Yet David is humble. He won’t even lift his hand against Saul, who is no longer the rightful king of Israel, because Saul is the anointed one of God.

I think we’d all agree that Jesus is a pretty masculine guy—I mean, He’s God Himself in the flesh. Jesus isn’t some overly effeminate person. And yet, what does Jesus do? He serves. In fact, the last thing He tells His disciples: “Love one another as I have loved you.” And what does He do? He washes their feet—something reserved for servants. In another place He says: “The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served.”

The most masculine thing you can do is to have sympathy, to bear with people. The most feminine thing you can do is to have sympathy, to bear with people. Because that is to have true humanity. That is to have humility.

To sit there and say, “I have things wrong with me. You have things wrong with you. Let us bear one another’s burdens and so make each other better. Let us live to a higher calling. Let us live as God commands us instead of our own selfish way.”

So we are not to build ourselves up. In one place in the Gospel, Jesus says: If you go to a party that your friend is holding, take the lowest seat. Don’t think so highly of yourself. If you take the highest seat, your friend could come up to you and say, “Yeah, but you don’t understand. The governor is coming over, so I need you to move.” No, take the lowest seat, and your friend will come in and say, “Friend, why are you here? Come up to the place of honor.”

This is why at potlucks people turn around and say, “Pastor, why are you last in line? Get up there! Get up there!” I say, “No, no, no, no, no. Don’t you know the first shall be last, and the last shall be first?” Now, that has to do with heaven and things like that—but still, don’t think highly of ourselves.

Nice Guys and the Kingdom

We have this saying in our culture: “Nice guys finish last.” Well, buddy, if winning the race to heaven is about following the nicest guy that ever lived—the one who laid down His life for everyone, the one who was abandoned by everyone, and yet was the most masculine man in the world, the most loving man in the world, the nicest man in the world—He didn’t finish last. He sits at the right hand of God, from where He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Christians are “nice guys.”

We have a food pantry, and every now and then I’ll get questions about, “Well, how do we know people aren’t taking advantage of us?” Because we have some rules: you get to use it once a month, and you’ve got to show your ID. “But what if they’re not really in need?”

That’s when I like to quote a movie, Nacho Libre: “But they’re the Lord’s chips!” Right? Who are they stealing from? They’re not stealing from us. If we run out and they weren’t in need, maybe they stole from those who are truly in need. But who they’re ultimately stealing from is God, because everything is given to us by God. And they will have to account for that on the last day. So we pray that they will repent and make it right with the Lord.

If they take advantage of us, guess what? The world has been taking advantage of Christians all the time. Why do you think we’re told to go the extra mile? That’s literally a Christian thing. By Roman law, a Roman soldier could come upon you and say, “Carry my pack for the next mile.” Whatever direction that might be—even the exact place you just came from—you carried it. Christians would take it off, let it touch the ground (as the law required), put it back on, and go literally an extra mile.

Trusting God’s Provision

“What about taking care of myself, taking care of my family?” God knows that. God knows what you need. Trust Him. Be honest. Be loving. Be kind. Earn for yourself and for your family—not just what you need to live, but seek first the kingdom of God.

Seek a reputation of integrity. Seek a reputation of honesty. Seek a reputation of dependability. Because that will get you farther in life. That will mean more than material things. The Lord knows what you need, and the Lord provides.

So do what is right, even if it’s the hard thing. Do what is right, even if no one is watching. That is true humanity. That is true masculinity—not the fake feeding of every sinful inclination.

But the question is this: if you have Christ, if you have life everlasting, if you have the forgiveness of sins, why would you fear being last?

Finishing the Race

One of the things I tell my kids when it comes time to eat their vegetables is this: “Just mix it with the food you like, because it all winds up in the same place.” Well, guess what? If you have Christ, it doesn’t matter if you’re the first one in or the last one in—you all wind up in the same place, with Christ.

So what do we have to fear about being last? We don’t declare ourselves better than another, for Christ is better than us all. And He served us. He washes away our sin with His blood. He washes us new and makes us new creations in the baptismal waters. He feeds us the medicine of immortality, His body and blood at His table.

I can honestly say that Jesus Christ is a better man than I will ever hope to be. And He loved me more than I could ever understand. He laid down His life—even though I am not a good man, even though you are not a good man or a good woman. He poured out His blood for you.

We who have been caught in a multitude of transgressions against God have been restored by the Spirit. And the Spirit now guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, to protect us from temptation. Christ bore the burden of sin so as to fulfill the law, doing what we could not.

Sowing and Reaping

Paul continues:

“One who is taught the Word must share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. The one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

In other words, take care of each other.

This epistle lesson is really a summation of the past few weeks of Gospel lessons. The Good Samaritan—who is the neighbor? The one who has mercy. The ten lepers—who is the one who heals? It is Christ Jesus. And for that we give Him thanks. And who is the one who provides? It is God. It’s not ourselves, but God.

So Christ calls us to more because Christ has redeemed us. And Paul warns us: we will reap what we sow. The unconverted will reap death.

Making Heaven Full

So what does that mean for us as Christians? Well, Becca, what did your shirt say yesterday? “Making heaven full.” And you know what? When I saw her yesterday, she said, “You know what I should have put on the back, though? Recruiter.”

We are recruiters for Christ. We are to go out and proclaim Christ to the world—in our homes, in our communities, in the nations. We are to proclaim Christ so that all might believe, so that heaven might be full, overflowing.

Jesus tells us that there is room for everyone. Let’s put that to the test. Let’s see if we can get more people in heaven than there are rooms. I guarantee you: there will still be room for everyone.

And to the converted, they reap eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, grace everlasting. So as Christians, the law no longer convicts us of sin, but it shows us the way of loving God. The “now what? what next?” is there: bear one another’s burdens, walk with each other, be humble.

Show what true femininity is. Show what true masculinity is. It’s living the Christian life.

Living as the Church

Sometimes people will sit there and say, “The Church is really effeminate—all this caring about loving other people, things like that.” In fact, more women attend church than men. Historically, 60% of the Church is women, and 40% is men. And that makes sense—not just because the Church is feminine, but because women live longer than men.

And I know this because one of the good things about social media is that it shows us when men put two ladders on top of one another to change a lightbulb. Women live longer than men.

But we are all called to the same Christ. Living who we are means carrying one another’s burdens, loving others the way Christ loved us, and using the law as a guide to show how we love God.

So go and love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. In Christ’s name. Amen.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.