When Pride Exposes Its Ugly Face

When Pride Exposes Its Ugly Face

Psalm 19:12-14

Who am I that I could know my heart? “The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, who can know it?”   Jeremiah 17:9) One of the enemy’s greatest victories in our lives is when he convinces us that he is either non-existent, or that he does not bother to influence us towards wickedness and sin. What happens when I think the best of myself? I exalt myself. I lift myself up to a point where I have a hard time believing that I could be wrong about something. Hmmm. What a trick. What an effective means of destroying myself and everyone around me. No wonder the LORD admonishes us in His Word (the Bible) to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] minds” (Romans 12:2) and be cleansed by the Word (John 15:3). 

What is the root of Pride? What does it look like? How do we recognize it in our lives? And how can we keep ourselves from succumbing to its deadly temptations? These are questions that have been circulating through my mind for the past couple of weeks. Well, the root of pride: a heart of rebellion-one which says to anything higher than it, “You are wrong; I am right. I know better, in fact, I am better.” The result? Me exalting myself against my God and the authority figures He has placed as shepherds over me; me justifying my sin; and me adding to the development of strife and dissension in my company of friends, the kind of dissension that works like a silent, invisible plague, producing death wherever it goes. 

In the book, Hind’s feet on High Places, ‘Much-Afraid’ (the book’s protagonist) has a startling encounter with her terrible cousin, ‘Pride’...one which results in her crying out just before being overcome by him. She is rescued by the Valiant Shepherd, who is her True and Faithful Hero in the midst of ‘Much-Afraid’’s foes. The Shepherd enters the scene and Pride falls, literally; he is cast off a cliff. That story depicts a beautiful analogy of the past couple weeks’ happenings with me and my friends here. We are growing so much together-it is an astounding thing to watch and be a part of. All because of the intervention and victory of Our Shepherd, King Jesus!!! We walk in “the power of [His] daily sufficient grace”... quote is from a song by Laura Story.

So, how do we keep ourselves from succumbing to Pride’s deadly deceptions? Well, I’m learning that it doesn’t take much time at all in the presence of My Shepherd for me to realize my broken imperfections in the light of His glorious perfection! The advice I give based on my recent experiences: remain in the presence of God and be continually humbled by His Perfection. Increased time with Him keeps me acutely aware of the reality that apart from Him, I can do nothing (John chapter 15); yet, with Christ, anything is possible (Philippians 4:13)! As we humble ourselves in His Presence, He truly does lift us up (James 4:10)! 

So, what have I been learning the past couple of weeks here? Remain in the presence of Almighty God and you will not be overcome or destroyed by Pride. =D    

P.S.-Yes, I did take the picture of the tiger above here in India...don’t worry, Momma, he is in a zoo :)