Some protest that the concept of co-operating with grace to obtain a glorious inheritance would have Christians strutting around heaven like peacocks. But that is not how holiness works, and only the holy will be rewarded in such a way. Being Christ-like means to be like Christ who was the antithesis of a strutting peacock: meek and lowly of heart. And “when He is revealed, we shall be like Him”587. The divine quality of holiness is the moral cognate to love as Paul defines it588: “Love does not parade itself and is not puffed up”. Those who have God’s love in their heart and see a lowly person or an animal in need are not inclined to strut around with thoughts of superiority but are filled with compassion to help them. Such meekness of spirit and genuine condescension is the nature of love and holiness; they are the refined instincts of those who already partake of the divine nature.
The holy also delight in honouring and submitting to those who are honoured above them, as was evident regarding Jesus towards His Father during His earthly ministry589, and Prophet John regarding the One he was heralding, declaring “He must increase, I must decrease”. Additionally, worldly pride arises in part from the disordered nature of the vessel the spirit currently inhabits. This is discarded at death and will be thoroughly renewed at resurrection. The proud of heart do not possess the imparted love of the Father; they are morally and spiritually deficient and will one day be recognized by all to be so.