No, not really? Me either! But
I’ve already been served a huge helping and been devouring it for most of my
life. Ew. Why does it taste so good when it’s so unhealthy for you? It looks so
delicious, too, doesn’t it? Like a juicy steakburger with all the fixins’ or a
giant milkshake in a frosty glass on a hot day. But when you try it, you find
out the meat is bad or the milk is sour; it leaves a bad taste in your mouth
and makes you feel sick. Man, the devil sure packages it well! He makes pride
and arrogance appear so tantalizing, so tempting that all we want to do is
continue in it without a second thought. I know I sure do! How many of you are
with me on this? I’m going to go ahead and say all of you. And if you think
you’re not, you’re either not human or else you’re extremely prideful because
you just decided you were better than others and didn’t struggle with pride,
which means you do.
This month, God has
been making that burger appear a lot less juicy. I’m turning into a vegetarian!
Sort of 😛 Or maybe I’m becoming *gasp of horror* lactose intolerant? However
you want to see it, God has been calling out areas of pride and arrogance in my
life and showing me how unhealthy it is and how I need to be meek and humble.
How many of you
like to be right? About EVERYTHING? Me, too; I’ll be the first to raise both
hands to that! I hate being wrong. I also hate failing, appearing less than the
best, and seeming weak. All those stem from the spirit of pride. So many of the
things that I do come from my desire to please man rather than God. But why?
Why do we care so much about what other people think of us when God is the One
Who really matters, the One Who passes final judgment? Jesus freed us from the
law of sin and death, gave us the ability to walk in freedom rather than in
bondage to the opinions of others. And let’s face it, it’s tiring and
aggravating trying to conform to what other people want us to be like. (And if
you’re one of those non-conformists who claims to not care, good for you! But
you’re still guilty of pride because you’re thinking that you’re better than
all of those conformists) Check out Romans 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.� Declare
that over yourself, yell it out loud, scream it at the devil. You are free
because JESUS HAS MADE YOU FREE!
I can think of many
examples of my pride just in the past two weeks in Rwanda. Not that there
weren’t plenty in Kenya and Uganda, but God has been bringing them to my
attention more since I’ve been in Kigali. (Oh, you want me to actually list
the examples, God? Why can’t I just tell them I struggle with pride and leave
it at that? Grr… ok, FINE! I’ll tell them *sigh*) There’s a prime
example. That right there was the pride in me not wanting to appear weak and
sinful to all of you even though I clearly am. Alright, examples. When one of
us needs to preach, I’m usually the first to volunteer since I’m not afraid of
public speaking. I take too much pride in that and a lot of times, feel that
I’m better than the others for stepping up first. Not so! God is the One Who
gives me words and allows me to speak, just as He gives the others words and
allows them to speak. He calls each of the girls on my team to speak at
different times about different things and I should not view myself as better
because I’m not. In fact, I’m lower than them and it’s only in my eyes that I’m
better. Second example! Everywhere we’ve been, I wake up at least an hour or two
earlier than everyone else for my time with God. How in the world can you take
so much sinful pride in something that should be all about God?! Trust me, it’s
possible. Many times, I think I’m better than the others because I get up
earlier and make sure I take time out to spend with God instead of getting too
immersed in watching TV or hanging out. Argh… God convicts me instantaneously
with a spiritual smack in the face, often in the form a verse about pride. Even
when small things happen, like when we’re watching a movie or doing our Bible
study and someone makes a comment that’s incorrect, or that I think is
incorrect, I have to fight the impulse to immediately correct it. Usually, I
fail. Quite miserably. And the results of those comments always result in me
feeling aggravated, annoyed and rather hateful.
So how do we get
rid of pride? With a whole lot of prayer, for one. It’s an almost constant
struggle for me, taking place on the battlefield of my mind. You should hear
the conversations I sometimes have with myself, and with God! Basically, we
need to first recognize that we struggle with pride. Admit it and ask God for
forgiveness. Face it and rebuke it. Every day, I ask God to let me hunger and
thirst for Him, and to take away my pride and replace it with humility.
Proverbs 8:13 and Proverbs 16:18-19 say it well – “The fear of the Lord is to
hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way…� and “Pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble
spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.� Oh yeah, and
don’t forget this command from Colossians 3:12 – “Therefore, as the elect of
God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
longsuffering.� Which sounds easy in theory but just wait until God sticks you
in that situation… Ohhhh, SNAP!
(Almost done
preaching, I promise!)
So here it is. I want to challenge you to
walk in humility. For the next 24 hours, I dare you to give up your pride. When
someone makes a wrongful comment or puts you down, swallow your retort and just
take it. Don’t make yourself sound better than others. You don’t always have to
be right or first. Instead of caring what people think, think about what God
would say. Amen? Ask Him to make you hunger and thirst for food that is truly
delicious. I bet He makes a really tasty milkshake that’s actually healthy for
you!
