De-railed by Pride

Monday, August 10, 2009

A man’s pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
Proverbs 29:23

For the last few weeks we have been talking about serving; in our homes, in our communities and in the world around us. This week, we will take a look at the heart of one who serves.

The oldest sin that gets in the way of serving is pride. This one takes us all the way back to the garden when the serpent says, “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” The two Great Commandments in the Word, loving God and loving others are de-railed when pride pushes its way to the forefront of our lives. We all wrestle with a certain level of pride in our lives at different times. But when our lives are saturated with an obsession of how we look and how well our wants and desires are being filled we need to make some changes. Pride at its deepest level puts distance between us and God as well as us and others. We become hardened and refuse to accept correction from others or from God. This condition is noted by our critical spirit. Our problems in life are always the fault of someone else, even God. When we watch the news or just observe the lives of those around us we think, “Whew, I am sure glad I am not like that.”

Take some time today to ask God to make known to you any hint of pride that might exist in you. If you are really brave ask someone you really trust for an honest assessment of your “pride quotient”. We must start here. If we are always looking down on others from our pedestals above, we are of no use in helping them to rise to greater things in their own lives. Jesus Himself demonstrated that for us. (“The Son of man did not come to be served but to serve.” Matthew 20:28) Read Philippines 2:1-11 as well.

Prayer: Search my heart today. Grant me the courage to deal decisively with any bit of pride that may be present in my life. Amen