Pride

As Christians, we know that God despises the Proud. (James 4:6) We are taught to pray against it and model humility, just as Jesus did. But even non-believers share a similar sentiment on pride. In society, the proud, arrogant, and boastful are often despised. Hearing about someone go on and on about their high paying job, their great big house, their 3 car garage that isn't fit to hold all of their expensive cars... is universally nauseating to hear. Even more, we hate those who are dishonest about their boasting... Those who bump up their salary by a few figures, those who round up their SAT scores, those who constantly exaggerate their accomplishments, waiting for someone to pat them on the back. Truth is, when pride rears its ugly head in its most raw form, it is despicable to anyone who comes across it. Pride by nature is just flat out ugly and uncomfortable. It is a natural response. While the bible is very clear on Gods feelings towards pride, it only takes a little human observation to see that Pride carries with it a negative connotation. Then, it is only made bearable because we as humans have learned so well to dress it up and fabricate it as something else. We've taken whats inevitably within us all, and merely packaged it so that it is presentable to others. And guess what group of people have perfected the art?

When we look at Adam and Eve's fall in the garden of Eden, we see Pride's marks all over it. It is in a way, the true raw reason we are unable to naturally commune with God without Jesus's merciful intervention. One definition of pride is "a self worship which causes someone to think more highly of themselves as he or she ought." Remember the one who is dishonest about their boasts? Those who exaggerate their accomplishments? In a spiritual sense that is us. We give ourselves way too much credit in the realm of our morality, and we often presume entitlement towards salvation. When we are broken of our pride, we are able to see sin... and through repentance, receive salvation. It is a completion of our desired identity... and a new citizenship toward a place God originally wanted us to be.

But even after salvation, we are in constant battle with our pride. More specifically, it keeps us from being truly used by God. A topic I especially want to expound upon is the "pride of the hurt"... the "pride of the victims", so to speak. Alot of us who have endured suffering, insult, or hurt use our pain as justification to remain calloused and ineffective in our walks. It breeds fear, anxiety, and paranoia to a certain extent. We believe that we deserve more, and that we ARE more than that which has been said about us.... or that which has HAPPENED to us. And again, we give ourselves more credit than we deserve. It is in a way, a shattering reminder of who we are and our lack of true identity. As hard and barbaric as it may be to see, the truth of our depravity is that we don't deserved more than death, we don't deserved anything but insult and judgment... we don't deserve anything less than that which Jesus endured on the road to calvary. Yet when we are faced with insult, and when we are faced with life's hard problems... we become too easily hurt and try to use the pain as justification to be more selfish, to be more defensive, and to be more calloused. I see it in my life and in the fears that I have to do bold things for God... as well as the believers around me. Some are more sensitive than others by design... some more prone to emotional and verbal hurt. But as Christians, we must still recognize that even emotional and verbal hurt is a result of sin. Perhaps we are sure the blame should be on someone else, but we are all universally responsible for sin, and vulnerable to it. Sin which entered through Adam, festers throughout creation so that it groans for freedom and hope of liberation. There are always times throughout life when we are burdened and weary. God invites the burdened to find rest in him (Matthew 11)... He encourages the weary to find hope in Him (Isaiah 40). But in order for the body of Christ to be more effective, the church needs to be not only a hospital where people find healing, but also a place where we are surrendered and empowered so that we don't waste our lives defensive, calloused, fearful, and scared as a result of our pride.